diff --git a/src/distilabel/models/llms/vllm.py b/src/distilabel/models/llms/vllm.py
index 4082f978e8..e2a49de8bb 100644
--- a/src/distilabel/models/llms/vllm.py
+++ b/src/distilabel/models/llms/vllm.py
@@ -243,7 +243,10 @@ def _cleanup_vllm_model(self) -> None:
 
         destroy_model_parallel()
         destroy_distributed_environment()
-        del self._model.llm_engine.model_executor
+
+        # Don't delete model_executor if it does not exist, e.g. when VLLM_USE_V1 is set
+        if hasattr(self._model.llm_engine, "model_executor"):
+            del self._model.llm_engine.model_executor
         del self._model
         with contextlib.suppress(AssertionError):
             torch.distributed.destroy_process_group()