Sir Stirling Moss is lifted from his Lotus after his career-ending crash © Getty Images Enlarge

Sir Stirling Moss's Formula One career ended on the 23rd April 1962, when he crashed head-on into a grass verge during a non-championship race at Goodwood. Photos taken immediately after show the severity of the 110mph impact and his recovery from a lengthily coma was covered in detail by the press.

However, the lesser known side of the story is how Moss dealt with his recovery personally and what exactly happened to his brain that meant he could no longer drive a racing car on the limit. Matters of the mind are never simple, but in a revealing new documentary set to air on BBC Four on Sunday at 9.00pm, Richard Hammond - himself the victim of a life-changing crash while filming for Top Gear - interviews Moss about how he dealt with losing, what was essentially, his livelihood.

Hammond meets Moss starts by reviewing Moss's career, with Hammond firmly in control of the questions and Moss answering with all his trademark charm and wit. But as the subject topic turns to the crash and its aftermath, the interviewer/interviewee relationship is thrown out of the window as the pair engage in an open conversation about their accidents.

This is entirely to the programme's benefit and allows Hammond to probe deeper into Moss's recovery than perhaps any other presenter could. Moss is frank and forthright - as he often is in his columns for ESPNF1 - while Hammond reveals the astounding extent of his post-traumatic amnesia.

For those familiar with Moss's career the programme is an absolute must, but it will also appeal to anybody with even a passing interest in the workings of the mind.

When: 9.00pm Sunday June 6, BBC Four

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