The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond Steps Away From “Dangerous Things” As Family Becomes Focus

In a recent interview, Richard Hammond discussed his new show Richard Hammond’s Crazy Contraptions along with his history with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as his taste in cars.

“Am I having a mid-life crisis?” the ex-Top Gear presenter asked. “The archetypal, stereotypical thing is buying a sports car and I’ve got rid of most of mine.

“I mostly drive a pick-up truck or Land Rover now. So I think, yeah, maybe I am. Men do – we evaluate things.”

Richard Hammond began his career on the big screen alongside Jeremy Clarkson in 2002 on BBC’s Top Gear, and the chemistry in what soon became a legendary trio exploded.

“Oh God, we bicker,” he laughed. “But we never fall out because we still work together. If you think of anybody you’ve spent the last 20 years with, you’ll know how it works.

“If I talk about motorbikes it annoys Jeremy because he hates them. And if Jeremy and James talk about Second World War aeroplanes that annoys me because it’s not my subject.

“We know each other’s buttons but we don’t press them very often.”

Richard Hammond soon became known for his “crap driving”, as Jeremy calls it after he crashed a jet Vampire dragster at 288mph resulting in a near-fatal crash. Then, during The Grand Tour, he crashed an all-electric Rimac Concept_One, fully solidifying his role as the one who crashes cars.

“Mindy never says no to my doing dangerous things because I’ve never asked her,” he revealed. “I just wouldn’t do it now out of respect for her and the girls.

“I don’t want to risk taking myself out of their lives because we all have a lot of fun together and I wouldn’t want not to be there to fulfil that role.”

Richard Hammond has started a new gameshow on Channel 4 where teams of engineers compete to build the most brilliant machines from things found around a house.

“I have tried inventions before and they’ve never worked,” Hammond told fans.

“So when Channel 4 rang and asked if I wanted to present the show on more or less the same subject I said ‘Yes please’.”

Hammond is however worried about one thing:

“I’m a little bit concerned about that. It very much isn’t my house and I don’t want anyone thinking it is.

“So if you don’t mind stressing that I’d be very, very pleased because I’m worried sick people think it really is mine. I wish it were.”

He continued after the interviewer asked how big his house is:

“Well, it’s not THAT big.”

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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