In a YouTube video shared by McLaren Racing on Friday, July 3, Adele opened up about how her son’s passion for karting and racing eventually became her obsession too. Angelo asked about it a couple of years ago, and she decided to lean in—not just tolerate it, but actually get invested. And the results? She’s now arguing with her soon-to-be 14-year-old about drivers, hosting 6 a.m. race watch parties at her Los Angeles home complete with massive chili, and describing Formula 1 as a weird, secret club that millions of people are into. She called it one of the best surprises of parenting a teenage boy in 2026.
What’s refreshing about Adele’s approach is her philosophy: when your kid has an interest, you have to get into it. Not just pretend. Actually care. That shift in mindset—from spectator parent to genuine participant—seems to have cracked open a whole universe for her. She’s amazed by how an entire subculture can exist beneath the radar of mainstream awareness, and now she and her friends are all showing up before dawn to watch races together.
During a sit-down with McLaren driver Lando Norris, Adele also reflected on her unlikely journey to stardom. She was never the girl who dreamed of being a singer; she thought she’d be a talent scout. She even joked about her Top 8 on MySpace back in the day being ten out of ten—no misses. What strikes her now is how improbable her whole career was. A girl from Tottenham wasn’t supposed to make it, let alone become a global phenomenon. She still wrestles with the fame side of it, but she’s learned to lean into the absurdity: her job is being a singer. It’s kind of ridiculous when you think about it that way.
Adele shares Angelo with her ex-husband, Simon Konecki, who was born in October 2012. And while she may have never expected to develop a shared passion for Formula 1 with her teenage son, it’s a reminder that the best family moments often come from the places we least anticipate—not from our blueprints for connection, but from showing up with genuine curiosity when our kids invite us into their worlds.
