diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index d1bc5816e1..a27f647175 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -115,6 +115,12 @@ before_script:
     - export PYTHONPATH="$IDF_PATH/tools:$IDF_PATH/tools/ci/python_packages:$PYTHONPATH"
     - fetch_submodules
 
+default:
+  retry:
+    max: 2
+    # In case of a runner failure we could hop to another one, or a network error could go away.
+    when: runner_system_failure
+
 include:
   - '.gitlab/ci/rules.yml'
   - '.gitlab/ci/docs.yml'