Richard Hammond admitted that the lasting effects of his 2006 Top Gear crash still made him fear possible cognitive decline.
The former Top Gear presenter suffered a severe brain injury after losing control of a jet-powered dragster at roughly 300 mph. Nearly two decades later, Hammond said ordinary moments of forgetfulness sometimes triggered worries about dementia.
Richard Hammond fears his past brain injury could lead to dementia
Hammond, 56, told The Sunday Times that he still questioned whether his past injury could affect his health later in life.
“Brain-wise, yeah. I mean, I worry. I’m scared. Of course. That was a big impact. Will it lead to onset of dementia?” he said.
The Richard Hammond crash happened in 2006 while he filmed Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May. The accident left Hammond with a serious brain injury and put him in a coma for two weeks.
His recovery also included significant memory problems and psychological effects.
Hammond said those experiences continued to influence how he reacted when he forgot everyday things.
“I don’t know. Every time I lose my keys, and I do lose things, I think: ‘Oh Christ, is that brain injury, or is that just I’m 56? And we all do it’,” he said.
He added, “So yeah, there is a legacy from that. I will carry that forever.”
Hammond did not say doctors had diagnosed him with dementia. Instead, he described Richard Hammond dementia concerns as a fear connected to the long-term impact of his previous injury.
The presenter later suffered another serious accident while filming The Grand Tour in 2017. That crash fractured his knee and left him with 13 pins and a metal plate.
Hammond eventually stepped away from The Grand Tour in 2024 alongside Clarkson and May.
He also started focusing more on his physical health. Hammond said he had taken up more serious running and planned to attempt a small triathlon. He also began wild swimming as part of his training.
Despite moving away from the high-risk motoring work that defined much of his career, Hammond said the consequences of his Richard Hammond brain injury had never completely left him.
