diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 719a6515..1aa87f0a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -57,9 +57,10 @@ jobs:
       image: "ghcr.io/osgeo/gdal:ubuntu-small-3.9.2"
 
     steps:
-      - name: Install packages
-        run: |
-          apt-get update && apt-get install -y build-essential python3-dev
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
 
       - name: Create virtual environment
         # install uv and use it to create a virtual environment, then add it to
@@ -90,7 +91,6 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         # virtual environment is automatically activated
         run: |
-          cd ..
           uv run python -c "import pyogrio; print(f'GDAL version: {pyogrio.__gdal_version__}\nGEOS version: {pyogrio.__gdal_geos_version__}')"
           uv run python -m pytest --pyargs pyogrio.tests -v