British superstar Adele recently visited the McLaren Technology Centre, where she gained a behind-the-scenes perspective on Formula 1 operations and experienced the team’s racing simulator firsthand.
The Grammy-winning artist explored the futuristic Woking facility with her son, who has developed a passion for karting. During the tour, Adele described the architecture as reminiscent of “arriving into space.”
“He just asked about it a couple of years ago, and I was like, ‘All right,'” Adele told McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “I don’t know many teenagers now who have an actual passion. So, I’m really trying to encourage it.”
The singer revealed how her son’s interest in racing has created a new bonding experience for the family. “But when your kid has an interest, you have to lean into it. More importantly, I think you have to be interested in it. And I don’t think I ever expected to bond with my soon-to-be 14-year-old son about something so passionately where we argue about drivers, you know? But it’s fun to have that interaction with a teenage boy in 2026. I wasn’t expecting it.”
The 38-year-old met with 2025 champion Lando Norris, learned about team communication systems alongside team principal Andrea Stella, and tested the simulator with Oscar Piastri.
“When you don’t know that an entire universe exists, millions of people are into something, and you don’t know about it, F1 kind of feels like a weird secret club,” she told Brown. “I have my friends who are my age coming over at like 6am to watch races and I make a massive chilli, and we’re all sitting there, and I just find it fascinating.”
The behind-the-scenes footage was shared on McLaren’s official YouTube channel, where it has garnered over 30,000 views since its release.