Richard Hammond reveals why he hasn’t reached out to Freddie Flintoff despite feeling ‘horrified and scared’ after near-fatal crash on Top Gear

Richard Hammond has revealed why he didn’t contact Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff after his near-fatal crash while filming Top Gear.

The two presenters suffered similar crashes while filming the much-loved BBC motoring programme, with both being told they were ‘lucky she was alive’.

Freddie, 46, crashed in December 2022 in a three-wheel, open-top Morgan Super 3 car traveling at 130mph, which had no airbags, leaving him with serious facial injuries and several broken ribs.

In 2006, The Grand Tour presenter Richard, now 54 years old, crashed a Vampire dragster, a jet-powered car that can reach speeds of 600 km/h.

When asked if Richard had contacted Freddie, he said: “I would love to, but he’s in the middle of his own recovery.”

The two presenters experienced similar crashes while filming the much-loved BBC motoring programme, with both being told they were ‘lucky she was alive’

Richard suffered serious head injuries that left him in a coma for two weeks when he crashed a Vampire dragster in 2006.

The father-of-two also told The Daily Mirror that he did not want to get involved in the situation despite the similarities. He continued: “I was shocked and scared for him, and I wish him the best possible recovery.

“It’s really terrible what happened.”

Richard currently co-hosts a podcast, Who we are nowwith his daughter Izzy, 23, and said the accident was one of the reasons he started the show.

One of the topics of discussion was the fact that Richard suffered brain damage after the incident and this was very public.

His family of two daughters and his wife were dealing with this at the time, which was a struggle, he explained.

There is still the stereotype that men suffer in silence, so the podcast and discussions aim to move away from those stereotypes and allow men to share their emotions more freely.

He said: ‘But I think from a listener’s perspective that means if a guy comes across this and knows me through Top Gear or one of the pretty crazy shows I’ve done, he might say, ‘Hey, he’s the little guy on that show, but he’s willing to talk about these things.”

When Izzy appeared on Lorraine last month, she encouraged everyone to talk to someone at home about their feelings, whether it’s their friends, family or their partner.

After Freddie’s crash, the BBC announced it would pause Top Gear – and in November last year it was paused for the ‘foreseeable future’

When asked if Richard had contacted Freddie, he said: “I would love to, but he’s in the middle of his own recovery.” ‘It’s really terrible what happened’

The father of two said he did not want to get involved in the situation despite the similarities. He continued: “I was shocked and scared for him, and I wish him the best possible recovery.”

After Freddie’s crash, the BBC announced it would pause Top Gear – and in November last year it was paused for the ‘foreseeable future’.

But fans were relieved earlier this month when he seemed to be on the mend as he showed off his healing facial injuries during the filming of Field Of Dreams India.

He looked cheerful as he posed for a photo with cricketer Subhajit Naskar at the Cricket Association of Bengal.

The Ashes hero was dressed in a black T-shirt, matching shorts and sunglasses.

A source said The sun: ‘Everyone is happy that Freddie is getting ready to go back to work. We know how much this series means to him. It was a passion project that was loved by viewers, so it’s great that it marks its return.”

His facial injuries look substantially better healed than during his last public appearance six months ago, in September 2023.

In 2006, the now 54-year-old host of The Grand Tour crashed a Vampire dragster, a jet-powered car that can reach a speed of 600 km/h. (pictured with close friends and co-hosts of The Grand Tour, James May and Jeremy Clarkson)