diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-commands.sh b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-commands.sh
index 01ae259a434e3..5c3c43e081ce6 100755
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-commands.sh
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-commands.sh
@@ -85,7 +85,11 @@ elif [[ "${SIZE_VARIANT}" == "compact" ]]; then
 fi
 if [ -n "${master_type_prefix}" ]; then
   if [ "${OCP_ARCH}" = "amd64" ]; then
-    master_type=${master_type_prefix}as_v5
+    if ! version_gt "${version}" "4.21"; then
+      master_type=${master_type_prefix}s_v3
+    else
+      master_type=${master_type_prefix}as_v5
+    fi
   elif [ "${OCP_ARCH}" = "arm64" ]; then
     master_type=${master_type_prefix}ps_v5
   fi
@@ -93,6 +97,9 @@ fi
 if [[ -n "${CONTROL_PLANE_INSTANCE_TYPE}" ]]; then
     master_type="${CONTROL_PLANE_INSTANCE_TYPE}"
 fi
+if [ "${OCP_ARCH}" = "amd64" ] && ! version_gt "${version}" "4.21" && [[ "${COMPUTE_NODE_TYPE}" == "Standard_D4as_v5" ]]; then
+  COMPUTE_NODE_TYPE="Standard_D4s_v3"
+fi
 
 master_replicas=${CONTROL_PLANE_REPLICAS:-3}
 
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-ref.yaml b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-ref.yaml
index 90bd120ec33f4..f44ee352d2eb9 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-ref.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/conf/azure/ipi-conf-azure-ref.yaml
@@ -29,11 +29,14 @@ ref:
     default: ""
     documentation: |-
       The instance type to use for control plane nodes.
-      When "" (default), depends on SIZE_VARIANT setting.
+      When "" (default), depends on SIZE_VARIANT and OCP version: Standard_D8as_v5 when OCP version is 4.22+,
+      Standard_D8s_v3 when OCP version is 4.21 and older (amd64 only; arm64 always uses Standard_D8ps_v5).
   - name: COMPUTE_NODE_TYPE
     default: 'Standard_D4as_v5'
     documentation: |-
-      The instance type to use for compute nodes
+      The instance type to use for compute nodes.
+      When set to the default (Standard_D4as_v5) and OCP version is 4.21 and older, the script
+      automatically substitutes Standard_D4s_v3 to stay within Azure quota limits.
   - name: COMPUTE_NODE_REPLICAS
     default: "3"
     documentation: |-