diff --git a/.ci-operator.yaml b/.ci-operator.yaml
index 3a61bcb389..5b5cd20fdc 100644
--- a/.ci-operator.yaml
+++ b/.ci-operator.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 build_root_image:
   name: release
   namespace: openshift
-  tag: golang-1.13
+  tag: golang-1.16