diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index be1b24d9d57f7895c2f786e91e5460e3523e717c..5932daecdf89a60bc568b047a87b684e64493f61 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ build_release_tag:
 
 tests:
   stage: tests
+  image: rust:1-bullseye
   rules:
     - if: $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ /^wip*$/
       when: manual
@@ -136,6 +137,7 @@ tests:
       when: never
     - if: '$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ID || $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "master"'
       when: manual
+    - when always
   script:
     # cargo build is required for cucumber tests anyway
     - cargo build