diff --git a/tools/tracing/rtla/src/timerlat_aa.c b/tools/tracing/rtla/src/timerlat_aa.c
index dec5b4c4511e..baf1efda0581 100644
--- a/tools/tracing/rtla/src/timerlat_aa.c
+++ b/tools/tracing/rtla/src/timerlat_aa.c
@@ -338,7 +338,23 @@ static int timerlat_aa_irq_handler(struct trace_seq *s, struct tep_record *recor
 		taa_data->timer_irq_start_time = start;
 		taa_data->timer_irq_duration = duration;
 
-		taa_data->timer_irq_start_delay = taa_data->timer_irq_start_time - expected_start;
+		/*
+		 * We are dealing with two different clock sources: the
+		 * external clock source that timerlat uses as a reference
+		 * and the clock used by the tracer. There are also two
+		 * moments: the time reading the clock and the timer in
+		 * which the event is placed in the buffer (the trace
+		 * event timestamp). If the processor is slow or there
+		 * is some hardware noise, the difference between the
+		 * timestamp and the external clock read can be longer
+		 * than the IRQ handler delay, resulting in a negative
+		 * time. If so, set IRQ start delay as 0. In the end,
+		 * it is less relevant than the noise.
+		 */
+		if (expected_start < taa_data->timer_irq_start_time)
+			taa_data->timer_irq_start_delay = taa_data->timer_irq_start_time - expected_start;
+		else
+			taa_data->timer_irq_start_delay = 0;
 
 		/*
 		 * not exit from idle.