Richard Hammond has admitted he’s “a little uncomfortable” over his daughter’s driving career due to his past crash experience on Top Gear.
Hammond, 56, was left in a medically induced coma in 2006 after a grievous crash on the BBC show, and earlier this year, influencer Izzy, 25, was taking part in a Formula E influencer event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, known as Evo sessions, when she lost control of her car and smashed into a concrete barrier.
While she suffered no injuries, ex-Grand Tour presenter Richard said he finds her Formula E racing career “a little uncomfortable because I know from personal experience that things can and do go wrong”.
He added to Metro: “I’m a father, like any other father. I don’t want to see my little girl hurt, but I don’t want to hold her back from opportunities that present themselves. She’s carving her own career, so I can sit back and watch her do that and only applaud.”
When Izzy first crashed, she said her first thought was “Oh my god, everyone’s watching, my dad’s watching – can someone just tell him I’m OK?”.
The accident came 20 years after Richard crashed a 288mph jet-powered dragster at Elvington airfield while attempting a land speed record while filming BBC’s Top Gear.
He landed upside down in a field and was left with serious head injuries, including a frontal lobe brain injury.
In a 2024 interview with The Sunday Times, Hammond reflected on how he thinks his frontal lobe brain injury has already started to affect his memory at 54.
“It did have a knock-on effect. I’ve discussed it since with my family. I’m 54 and my memory’s getting shaky,” he said.
Last week, it was revealed that Top Gear will officially return to the BBC almost four years after host Freddie Flintoff was seriously injured in a high-speed crash while filming in Surrey.
Flintoff was driving a three-wheeled car at more than 100mph when the vehicle flipped and skidded down a track, leaving him with broken ribs and severe facial injuries that required extensive surgery.
Production of the 34th series of the motoring show was halted following the incident, and the BBC later announced that it would “rest” for the foreseeable future.
In 2023, Flintoff and the broadcaster reached a settlement over the crash, with the former host reportedly paid about £9m.
Hammond will next be seen cameoing on The Grand Tour, offering advice to new hosting trio Francis Bourgeois, Thomas Holland and James Engelsman. The new iteration of the Prime Video series launches on Friday (4 September).
