diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gt/intel_ring_submission.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gt/intel_ring_submission.c
index 92085ffd23de..4eb78895773f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gt/intel_ring_submission.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gt/intel_ring_submission.c
@@ -573,7 +573,6 @@ static int ring_context_alloc(struct intel_context *ce)
 	/* One ringbuffer to rule them all */
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!engine->legacy.ring);
 	ce->ring = engine->legacy.ring;
-	ce->timeline = intel_timeline_get(engine->legacy.timeline);
 
 	GEM_BUG_ON(ce->state);
 	if (engine->context_size) {
@@ -586,6 +585,8 @@ static int ring_context_alloc(struct intel_context *ce)
 		ce->state = vma;
 	}
 
+	ce->timeline = intel_timeline_get(engine->legacy.timeline);
+
 	return 0;
 }