diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
index 44e3d3210c..8b55075e9f 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
@@ -822,7 +822,7 @@ func generateCfgFromFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, k8sVersion string, drvName string)
 	repository := viper.GetString(imageRepository)
 	mirrorCountry := strings.ToLower(viper.GetString(imageMirrorCountry))
 	if strings.ToLower(repository) == "auto" || mirrorCountry != "" {
-		found, autoSelectedRepository, err := selectImageRepository(mirrorCountry, semver.MustParse(k8sVersion))
+		found, autoSelectedRepository, err := selectImageRepository(mirrorCountry, semver.MustParse(strings.TrimPrefix(k8sVersion, version.VersionPrefix)))
 		if err != nil {
 			exit.WithError("Failed to check main repository and mirrors for images for images", err)
 		}