diff --git a/parsl/providers/kubernetes/kube.py b/parsl/providers/kubernetes/kube.py
index 97d360f82c..0fa03f15f0 100644
--- a/parsl/providers/kubernetes/kube.py
+++ b/parsl/providers/kubernetes/kube.py
@@ -189,7 +189,8 @@ def submit(self, cmd_string, tasks_per_node, job_name="parsl"):
         formatted_cmd = template_string.format(command=cmd_string,
                                                worker_init=self.worker_init)
 
-        logger.debug("Pod name: {}".format(pod_name))
+        logger.debug("Pod name: %s", pod_name)
+
         self._create_pod(image=self.image,
                          pod_name=pod_name,
                          job_name=job_name,