Izzy Hammond, daughter of former Top Gear star Richard has opened up about her serious crash in Formula E and how her immediate thoughts turned to her father.
Izzy’s incident happened on Sunday when she participated in the latest edition of Formula E Evo Sessions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The 25-year-old lost control of her car at Turn 13 of the modified Jeddah Corniche Circuit, smashing the right-hand side of her vehicle into a concrete barrier.
The impact was heavy, at 24Gs (G-force), with the damage to her car severe as one wheel came off along with a front wing, while debris could be seen all over the track.
Thankfully she emerged unscathed declaring on the team radio: ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine.’
And later reflecting on the incident she revealed her concerns focused on father Richard who would be watching.
Izzy Hammond (left) has opened up about how her immediate thoughts turned to her father Richard after Sunday’s scary crash while racing in Formula E
Izzy, daughter of former Top Gear star Richard, was involved in a crash while racing in Jeddah
‘My first thought when I was in that wall was “oh my god, everyone’s watching, my dad’s watching.
“He’s going to cry or something. Can someone just tell him I’m OK?!” It wasn’t a small crash. If you’re going to crash, you’ve got to really crash.
‘I saw the wall coming and knew I was going to enter it at speed.’
Izzy’s crash comes almost 20 years after Richard near-fatal incident while filming a stunt for Top Gear – which almost caused the popular show to be cancelled.
The 56-year-old nearly died when one of the tyres on his Vampire jet car blew while he was travelling at 320mph, causing it to spin out of control and crash, flipping it upside down and leaving him with serious head injuries that put him in a coma for two weeks.
He later said he had ‘survivor’s guilt’ and that he had begged senior producers to carry out the stunt.
Reflecting on the crash in 2024, former Top Gear producer Andy Wilman said: ‘Richard’s first big crash was a real wake up.
‘Because I remember driving up the M1 and thinking: “F***, it’s a TV show,” and I had just rung the hospital and they went: “He’s in intensive care and we don’t know if he’s going to make it”.
Izzy had crashed into the wall at an impact of 24Gs, and her vehicle was heavily damaged
‘You’re like: “We’ve done everything…” you’re not thinking about who’s to blame or anything like that, because everything was in place.
‘But you think: “He’s got a wife and two children. What are we doing?”
‘It was the fear and the helplessness, obviously, because they (the hospital staff) won’t tell you any more on the phone, give you any details, and you’re stuck in traffic, and you’re panicking, and you’re thinking: “What’s the point of what we do? What is the point?”
‘We did have a good chat about this, me, Jeremy and the others. Our dysfunctional family sorted itself out.’
In 2017, he avoided death again in another horror crash that saw him be airlifted to hospital where he was treated for serious injuries including a fractured knee.
He was driving a £2million supercar in Switzerland when he lost control before it flipped and burst into flames during filming for his TV show The Grand Tour 2.
In September 2006, Richard was involved in a near-fatal incident while filming a Top Gear stunt
He nearly died when one of the tyres on his Vampire jet car blew while he was travelling at 320mph
In June 2017, Richard survived another crash when his £2million supercar flipped and burst into flames during filming for his TV show The Grand Tour 2
Thankfully Richard has recovered from both incidents and has been an avid follower of his daughter’s career.
After her crash on Sunday, Izzy took to Instagram to address the crash stating: ‘Hey guys, I don’t know if you saw but I crashed the f*** out of the car. Massive apologies to my team.
‘How did I do it? I don’t think I had enough heat in my tyres. So I was trying to break and I was trying to turn with no heated tyres so it all went a little bit t**s up and I hit the wall with 24Gs.
‘So my neck hurts a little bit, but I am absolutely fine so thank you everyone that is concerned.
‘This stuff happens, and now I can say I’m a proper racing driver because I’ve had a monumental crash.’
Izzy was competing alongside several other influencers at the event, including Joshua Larkin (TheBurntChip), William Lenney (WillNe), Arthur Frederick (ArthurTV), Ethan Payne (Behzinga), Vikram Singh Barn (Vikkstar), Max Klymenko, Stan Browney, Khaby Lame, JUCA and Emelia Hartford.
Izzy was competing in the latest edition of Formula E Evo Sessions, an influencer-led event which aims to increase the popularity of the sport
Izzy is a popular racing journalist and YouTuber and regularly appears on shows with her dad
The crash was in stark contrast to earlier in the day, during what appeared to be practice sessions, when Izzy had seemed to relish the experience.
However, at one point during her time on the track she could be heard to scream: ‘F***, this is scary!’
After the practice sessions she had posted a photo of herself on Instagram inside her car, with the caption: ‘THAT WAS WILD (CAR IS THE RIGHT WAY UP AND NOT ON FIRE).’
Explaining the premise of the Evo Sessions, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds said: ‘The Evo Sessions are about bringing motorsport to places where it hasn’t been before. With a true competitive format, we are opening up Formula E to hundreds of millions of new fans – authentic, exciting and bold.
‘This year we have really stepped up our efforts to create an experience that will surely thrill the fans. There has never been anything like this in motorsport, and we are proud to be pioneers.’
Formula E’s Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Norman added: ‘This is what the future of sport looks like. Content creators are how the new generation of fans discover and connect with sport.
‘Evolving EVO to work with some of the world’s biggest content creators is critical to our growth strategy and will allow us to reach new audiences and bring new fans into Formula E, as we strive to become the defining youth culture of motorsport.’
After her practice runs, Izzy had appeared to enjoy the experience as she took to social media to share her thoughts, although at one point she had screamed: ‘F***, this is scary’
Izzy is one of Richard’s two daughters from his relationship with former wife Mindy, who he split from in January last year.
After graduating from the University of Bristol with a BA in English in 2023, she has become an increasingly prominent voice in the driving landscape as a journalist and YouTuber – and she regularly appears alongside her father across various ventures.
Back in 2023, she joined DriveTribe, a social networking platform founded by Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Hammond as a hub for automotive content.
Izzy – who has 279,000 followers on Instagram – has been described as a ‘cherished presenter’ who brings a ‘fresh perspective’ to the motoring world by the channel.
She has also appeared on her dad’s Who We Are Now podcast, a show that focuses on personal growth, masculinity and mental health.
