diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/utils.py b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/utils.py
index 3b95990a57..a2a49b8a6e 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/utils.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/pageserver/utils.py
@@ -191,7 +191,11 @@ def wait_timeline_detail_404(
     tenant_id: TenantId,
     timeline_id: TimelineId,
     iterations: int,
+    interval: Optional[float] = None,
 ):
+    if interval is None:
+        interval = 0.25
+
     def timeline_is_missing():
         data = {}
         try:
@@ -204,7 +208,7 @@ def wait_timeline_detail_404(
 
         raise RuntimeError(f"Timeline exists state {data.get('state')}")
 
-    wait_until(iterations, interval=0.250, func=timeline_is_missing)
+    wait_until(iterations, interval, func=timeline_is_missing)
 
 
 def timeline_delete_wait_completed(
@@ -212,10 +216,11 @@ def timeline_delete_wait_completed(
     tenant_id: TenantId,
     timeline_id: TimelineId,
     iterations: int = 20,
+    interval: Optional[float] = None,
     **delete_args,
 ):
     pageserver_http.timeline_delete(tenant_id=tenant_id, timeline_id=timeline_id, **delete_args)
-    wait_timeline_detail_404(pageserver_http, tenant_id, timeline_id, iterations)
+    wait_timeline_detail_404(pageserver_http, tenant_id, timeline_id, iterations, interval)
 
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py b/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py
index d642a6d190..502ae71cec 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py
@@ -607,7 +607,9 @@ def test_timeline_deletion_with_files_stuck_in_upload_queue(
         ".* ERROR .*Error processing HTTP request: InternalServerError\\(timeline is Stopping"
     )
 
-    timeline_delete_wait_completed(client, tenant_id, timeline_id)
+    # Generous timeout, because currently deletions can get blocked waiting for compaction
+    # This can be reduced when https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/4998 is fixed.
+    timeline_delete_wait_completed(client, tenant_id, timeline_id, iterations=30, interval=1)
 
     assert not timeline_path.exists()