diff --git a/roles/kubespray_defaults/defaults/main/download.yml b/roles/kubespray_defaults/defaults/main/download.yml
index 3f99a410d..e268a2462 100644
--- a/roles/kubespray_defaults/defaults/main/download.yml
+++ b/roles/kubespray_defaults/defaults/main/download.yml
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ kube_proxy_image_repo: "{{ kube_image_repo }}/kube-proxy"
 etcd_image_repo: "{{ quay_image_repo }}/coreos/etcd"
 etcd_image_tag: "v{{ etcd_version }}"
 flannel_image_repo: "{{ docker_image_repo }}/flannel/flannel"
-flannel_image_tag: "v{{ flannel_version }}"
+flannel_image_tag: "{{ 'v' if flannel_version is version('0.28.6', '<') else '' }}{{ flannel_version }}"
 flannel_init_image_repo: "{{ docker_image_repo }}/flannel/flannel-cni-plugin"
 flannel_init_image_tag: "v{{ flannel_cni_version }}"
 calico_node_image_repo: "{{ quay_image_repo }}/calico/node"