diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/yamlRestTest/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/InferenceRestIT.java b/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/yamlRestTest/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/InferenceRestIT.java
index 701bcd204fcf..fe406722ae1e 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/yamlRestTest/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/InferenceRestIT.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/inference/src/yamlRestTest/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/inference/InferenceRestIT.java
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 import com.carrotsearch.randomizedtesting.annotations.ParametersFactory;
 
+import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.cluster.ElasticsearchCluster;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.cluster.local.distribution.DistributionType;
 import org.elasticsearch.test.rest.yaml.ClientYamlTestCandidate;
@@ -30,6 +31,15 @@ public InferenceRestIT(final ClientYamlTestCandidate testCandidate) {
         super(testCandidate);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected Settings restClientSettings() {
+        var baseSettings = super.restClientSettings();
+        return Settings.builder()
+            .put(baseSettings)
+            .put(CLIENT_SOCKET_TIMEOUT, "120s")  // Long timeout for model download
+            .build();
+    }
+
     @Override
     protected String getTestRestCluster() {
         return cluster.getHttpAddresses();