diff --git a/virtcontainers/fc.go b/virtcontainers/fc.go
index bc5e3bd37..7942da958 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/fc.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/fc.go
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ func (fc *firecracker) fcStartVM() error {
 // startSandbox will start the hypervisor for the given sandbox.
 // In the context of firecracker, this will start the hypervisor,
 // for configuration, but not yet start the actual virtual machine
-func (fc *firecracker) startSandbox() error {
+func (fc *firecracker) startSandbox(timeout int) error {
 	span, _ := fc.trace("startSandbox")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
@@ -375,7 +375,11 @@ func (fc *firecracker) startSandbox() error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	return fc.fcStartVM()
+	if err := fc.fcStartVM(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return fc.waitVMM(timeout)
 }
 
 func (fc *firecracker) createDiskPool() error {
@@ -411,14 +415,6 @@ func (fc *firecracker) createDiskPool() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// waitSandbox will wait for the Sandbox's VM to be up and running.
-func (fc *firecracker) waitSandbox(timeout int) error {
-	span, _ := fc.trace("waitSandbox")
-	defer span.Finish()
-
-	return fc.waitVMM(timeout)
-}
-
 // stopSandbox will stop the Sandbox's VM.
 func (fc *firecracker) stopSandbox() (err error) {
 	span, _ := fc.trace("stopSandbox")
diff --git a/virtcontainers/hypervisor.go b/virtcontainers/hypervisor.go
index 0e2289bee..6d5335917 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/hypervisor.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/hypervisor.go
@@ -591,8 +591,7 @@ func RunningOnVMM(cpuInfoPath string) (bool, error) {
 // The default hypervisor implementation is Qemu.
 type hypervisor interface {
 	createSandbox(ctx context.Context, id string, hypervisorConfig *HypervisorConfig, storage resourceStorage) error
-	startSandbox() error
-	waitSandbox(timeout int) error
+	startSandbox(timeout int) error
 	stopSandbox() error
 	pauseSandbox() error
 	saveSandbox() error
diff --git a/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor.go b/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor.go
index d5ca20c2d..f23b3b876 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor.go
@@ -30,11 +30,7 @@ func (m *mockHypervisor) createSandbox(ctx context.Context, id string, hyperviso
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (m *mockHypervisor) startSandbox() error {
-	return nil
-}
-
-func (m *mockHypervisor) waitSandbox(timeout int) error {
+func (m *mockHypervisor) startSandbox(timeout int) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor_test.go b/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor_test.go
index e6007380f..75fd59c80 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor_test.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/mock_hypervisor_test.go
@@ -47,15 +47,7 @@ func TestMockHypervisorCreateSandbox(t *testing.T) {
 func TestMockHypervisorStartSandbox(t *testing.T) {
 	var m *mockHypervisor
 
-	if err := m.startSandbox(); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-}
-
-func TestMockHypervisorWaitSandbox(t *testing.T) {
-	var m *mockHypervisor
-
-	if err := m.waitSandbox(0); err != nil {
+	if err := m.startSandbox(vmStartTimeout); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/virtcontainers/qemu.go b/virtcontainers/qemu.go
index 97e9857c9..59d9dbbb1 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/qemu.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/qemu.go
@@ -534,7 +534,7 @@ func (q *qemu) createSandbox(ctx context.Context, id string, hypervisorConfig *H
 }
 
 // startSandbox will start the Sandbox's VM.
-func (q *qemu) startSandbox() error {
+func (q *qemu) startSandbox(timeout int) error {
 	span, _ := q.trace("startSandbox")
 	defer span.Finish()
 
@@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ func (q *qemu) startSandbox() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("%s", strErr)
 	}
 
-	return nil
+	return q.waitSandbox(timeout)
 }
 
 // waitSandbox will wait for the Sandbox's VM to be up and running.
diff --git a/virtcontainers/sandbox.go b/virtcontainers/sandbox.go
index 90f1ea015..51a3a7f74 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/sandbox.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/sandbox.go
@@ -947,15 +947,11 @@ func (s *Sandbox) startVM() error {
 			return nil
 		}
 
-		return s.hypervisor.startSandbox()
+		return s.hypervisor.startSandbox(vmStartTimeout)
 	}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := s.hypervisor.waitSandbox(vmStartTimeout); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
 	// In case of vm factory, network interfaces are hotplugged
 	// after vm is started.
 	if s.factory != nil {
diff --git a/virtcontainers/vm.go b/virtcontainers/vm.go
index e22fc1e69..43bffffe6 100644
--- a/virtcontainers/vm.go
+++ b/virtcontainers/vm.go
@@ -131,10 +131,7 @@ func NewVM(ctx context.Context, config VMConfig) (*VM, error) {
 	}
 
 	// 3. boot up guest vm
-	if err = hypervisor.startSandbox(); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	if err = hypervisor.waitSandbox(vmStartTimeout); err != nil {
+	if err = hypervisor.startSandbox(vmStartTimeout); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
@@ -211,7 +208,7 @@ func (v *VM) Resume() error {
 // Start kicks off a configured VM.
 func (v *VM) Start() error {
 	v.logger().Info("start vm")
-	return v.hypervisor.startSandbox()
+	return v.hypervisor.startSandbox(vmStartTimeout)
 }
 
 // Disconnect agent and proxy connections to a VM