diff --git a/test/pkg/environment/common/expectations.go b/test/pkg/environment/common/expectations.go
index af3876eee..75274e0e8 100644
--- a/test/pkg/environment/common/expectations.go
+++ b/test/pkg/environment/common/expectations.go
@@ -366,7 +366,12 @@ func (env *Environment) EventuallyExpectKarpenterRestarted() {
 	GinkgoHelper()
 	By("rolling out the new karpenter deployment")
 	env.EventuallyExpectRollout("karpenter", "kube-system")
-	env.ExpectKarpenterLeaseOwnerChanged()
+
+	if !lo.ContainsBy(env.ExpectSettings(), func(v corev1.EnvVar) bool {
+		return v.Name == "DISABLE_LEADER_ELECTION" && v.Value == "true"
+	}) {
+		env.ExpectKarpenterLeaseOwnerChanged()
+	}
 }
 
 func (env *Environment) ExpectKarpenterLeaseOwnerChanged() {