diff --git a/.zuul.yaml b/.zuul.yaml
index 4b9b344e2..49a9be095 100644
--- a/.zuul.yaml
+++ b/.zuul.yaml
@@ -79,8 +79,9 @@
         Run the nova functional tests to confirm that we aren't breaking
         the PlacementFixture.
     vars:
-        # Skip the api and notification _sample_tests, and db-related tests
-        tox_extra_args: '^((?!(?:api|notification)_sample_tests|functional\.db\.).)*$'
+        # 'functional-without-sample-db-tests' tox env is defined in nova tox.ini
+        # to skip the api|notification _sample_tests and db-related tests.
+        tox_envlist: functional-without-sample-db-tests
 
 - job:
     name: placement-perfload