diff --git a/roles/kubernetes/node/templates/kubelet.kubeadm.env.j2 b/roles/kubernetes/node/templates/kubelet.kubeadm.env.j2
index 564160b61..b4cd0ce6e 100644
--- a/roles/kubernetes/node/templates/kubelet.kubeadm.env.j2
+++ b/roles/kubernetes/node/templates/kubelet.kubeadm.env.j2
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ KUBELET_HOSTNAME="--hostname-override={{ kube_override_hostname }}"
 {# start kubeadm specific settings #}
 --bootstrap-kubeconfig=/etc/kubernetes/bootstrap-kubelet.conf \
 --kubeconfig={{ kube_config_dir }}/kubelet.conf \
+{% if kube_version | version_compare('v1.8', '<') %}
 --require-kubeconfig \
+{% endif %}
 --authorization-mode=Webhook \
 --client-ca-file={{ kube_cert_dir }}/ca.crt \
 --pod-manifest-path={{ kube_manifest_dir }} \