diff --git a/py/conftest.py b/py/conftest.py
index b076e18313e71..b1a3e7ca8afd0 100644
--- a/py/conftest.py
+++ b/py/conftest.py
@@ -399,6 +399,13 @@ def clean_driver(request):
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def firefox_options(request):
+    try:
+        driver_option = request.config.option.drivers[0]
+    except (AttributeError, TypeError):
+        raise Exception("This test requires a --driver to be specified")
+    # skip tests in the 'remote' directory if run with a local driver
+    if request.node.path.parts[-2] == "remote" and get_driver_class(driver_option) != "Remote":
+        pytest.skip(f"Remote tests can't be run with driver '{driver_option}'")
     options = webdriver.FirefoxOptions()
     if request.config.option.headless:
         options.add_argument("-headless")
diff --git a/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/client_config.py b/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/client_config.py
index f5eec5aaf9251..3157e63b6cf70 100644
--- a/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/client_config.py
+++ b/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/client_config.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 # KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
 # specific language governing permissions and limitations
 # under the License.
+
 import base64
 import os
 import socket
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.proxy = proxy
         self.ignore_certificates = ignore_certificates
         self.init_args_for_pool_manager = init_args_for_pool_manager or {}
-        self.timeout = timeout
+        self.timeout = socket.getdefaulttimeout() if timeout is None else timeout
         self.username = username
         self.password = password
         self.auth_type = auth_type
@@ -104,16 +105,6 @@ def __init__(
         self.user_agent = user_agent
         self.extra_headers = extra_headers
 
-        self.timeout = (
-            (
-                float(os.getenv("GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT", str(socket.getdefaulttimeout())))
-                if os.getenv("GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT") is not None
-                else socket.getdefaulttimeout()
-            )
-            if timeout is None
-            else timeout
-        )
-
         self.ca_certs = (
             (os.getenv("REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE") if "REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE" in os.environ else certifi.where())
             if ca_certs is None
diff --git a/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection.py b/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection.py
index 1bc432084b6e2..a70981da0e0d6 100644
--- a/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection.py
+++ b/py/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection.py
@@ -152,11 +152,7 @@ class RemoteConnection:
 
     import certifi
 
-    _timeout = (
-        float(os.getenv("GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT", str(socket.getdefaulttimeout())))
-        if os.getenv("GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT") is not None
-        else socket.getdefaulttimeout()
-    )
+    _timeout = socket.getdefaulttimeout()
     _ca_certs = os.getenv("REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE") if "REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE" in os.environ else certifi.where()
     _client_config: ClientConfig = None
 
diff --git a/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection_tests.py b/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection_tests.py
index 438bc26cb0c42..2ca8d57a7ec04 100644
--- a/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection_tests.py
+++ b/py/test/selenium/webdriver/remote/remote_connection_tests.py
@@ -18,6 +18,12 @@
 import base64
 
 import filetype
+import pytest
+from urllib3.exceptions import ReadTimeoutError
+
+from selenium import webdriver
+from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
+from selenium.webdriver.remote.client_config import ClientConfig
 
 
 def test_browser_specific_method(driver, pages):
@@ -27,3 +33,20 @@ def test_browser_specific_method(driver, pages):
     result = base64.b64decode(screenshot)
     kind = filetype.guess(result)
     assert kind is not None and kind.mime == "image/png"
+
+
+def test_remote_webdriver_with_http_timeout(firefox_options, webserver):
+    """This test starts a remote webdriver with an http client timeout
+    set less than the implicit wait timeout, and verifies the http timeout
+    is triggered first when waiting for an element.
+    """
+    http_timeout = 6
+    wait_timeout = 8
+    server_addr = f"http://{webserver.host}:{webserver.port}"
+    client_config = ClientConfig(remote_server_addr=server_addr, timeout=http_timeout)
+    assert client_config.timeout == http_timeout
+    with webdriver.Remote(options=firefox_options, client_config=client_config) as driver:
+        driver.get(f"{server_addr}/simpleTest.html")
+        driver.implicitly_wait(wait_timeout)
+        with pytest.raises(ReadTimeoutError):
+            driver.find_element(By.ID, "no_element_to_be_found")