diff --git a/modules/transport-netty4/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/http/netty4/pipelining/HttpPipeliningHandler.java b/modules/transport-netty4/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/http/netty4/pipelining/HttpPipeliningHandler.java
index e416d081c6381..d636654f2b807 100644
--- a/modules/transport-netty4/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/http/netty4/pipelining/HttpPipeliningHandler.java
+++ b/modules/transport-netty4/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/http/netty4/pipelining/HttpPipeliningHandler.java
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@
  */
 public class HttpPipeliningHandler extends ChannelDuplexHandler {
 
-    private static final int INITIAL_EVENTS_HELD = 8;
+    // we use a priority queue so that responses are ordered by their sequence number
+    private final PriorityQueue<HttpPipelinedResponse> holdingQueue;
 
     private final int maxEventsHeld;
 
@@ -45,9 +46,6 @@ public class HttpPipeliningHandler extends ChannelDuplexHandler {
     private int readSequence;
     private int writeSequence;
 
-    // we use a priority queue so that responses are ordered by their sequence number
-    private final PriorityQueue<HttpPipelinedResponse> holdingQueue;
-
     /**
      * Construct a new pipelining handler; this handler should be used downstream of HTTP decoding/aggregation.
      *
@@ -56,7 +54,7 @@ public class HttpPipeliningHandler extends ChannelDuplexHandler {
      */
     public HttpPipeliningHandler(final int maxEventsHeld) {
         this.maxEventsHeld = maxEventsHeld;
-        this.holdingQueue = new PriorityQueue<>(INITIAL_EVENTS_HELD);
+        this.holdingQueue = new PriorityQueue<>(1);
     }
 
     @Override