diff --git a/.github/workflows/functional.yml b/.github/workflows/functional.yml
index 5df02d550a..e16ab7570a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/functional.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/functional.yml
@@ -145,11 +145,6 @@ jobs:
           make create-kind-cluster KIND_KUBE_CONFIG=${kube_config}
           echo "KUBECONFIG=${kube_config}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
-      - name: Wait for release to exist
-        run: |
-          REF=${{ github.ref_name }}
-          until docker pull ghcr.io/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric:${REF#v}; do sleep 5; done
-          until docker pull ghcr.io/nginxinc/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx:${REF#v}; do sleep 5; done
 
       - name: Setup functional tests
         id: setup