diff --git a/esrally/utils/net.py b/esrally/utils/net.py
index 4c0a86839..db859470d 100644
--- a/esrally/utils/net.py
+++ b/esrally/utils/net.py
@@ -193,8 +193,13 @@ def download_http(url, local_path, expected_size_in_bytes=None, progress_indicat
                 progress_indicator(bytes_read, size_from_content_header)
         return expected_size_in_bytes
 
+
 def add_url_param_elastic_no_kpi(url):
-    return _add_url_param(url, {"x-elastic-no-kpi": "true"})
+    scheme = urllib3.util.parse_url(url).scheme
+    if scheme.startswith("http"):
+        return _add_url_param(url, {"x-elastic-no-kpi": "true"})
+    else:
+        return url
 
 
 def _add_url_param(url, params):
diff --git a/tests/utils/net_test.py b/tests/utils/net_test.py
index 862b20bc7..6ad5e1019 100644
--- a/tests/utils/net_test.py
+++ b/tests/utils/net_test.py
@@ -75,6 +75,11 @@ def test_add_url_param_elastic_no_kpi(self):
         assert net.add_url_param_elastic_no_kpi(url) == \
                "https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-7.2.0.tar.gz?x-elastic-no-kpi=true"
 
+    def test_add_url_param_elastic_no_kpi_no_http(self):
+        url = "gs://my_bucket/builds/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-8.0.0-SNAPSHOT.tar.gz"
+        assert net.add_url_param_elastic_no_kpi(url) == \
+               "gs://my_bucket/builds/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-8.0.0-SNAPSHOT.tar.gz"
+
     def test_add_url_param_encoding_and_update(self):
         url = "https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-7.2.0.tar.gz?flag1=true"
         params = {"flag1": "test me", "flag2": "test@me"}