I have no real opinion on Hammond, because whenever Top Gear is on all my focus is my loathing for Clarkson. I know most people love him, but the man is an EPIC douchebag.
(He's also been recorded as saying he hates left-wing people, he hates short people, he hates people from Norfolk, and he hates the idea that we should do something about carbon emissions/climate change, so it's fair to say that if he met me the feeling would rapidly become mutual).