diff --git a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java
index 5818335af3cdd..889afb5bb958a 100644
--- a/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java
+++ b/java/src/org/openqa/selenium/grid/node/relay/RelaySessionFactory.java
@@ -159,6 +159,9 @@ public Either<WebDriverException, ActiveSession> apply(CreateSessionRequest sess
 
       ClientConfig clientConfig =
           ClientConfig.defaultConfig().readTimeout(sessionTimeout).baseUrl(serviceUrl);
+      if (!serviceProtocolVersion.isEmpty()) {
+        clientConfig = clientConfig.version(serviceProtocolVersion);
+      }
       HttpClient client = clientFactory.createClient(clientConfig);
 
       Command command = new Command(null, DriverCommand.NEW_SESSION(capabilities));