Richard Hammond admits his 'only function' was to 'stick together' with Jeremy Clarkson and James May

Richard Hammond has opened up about how his 'only function' was to stick together with former Top Gear co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

The TV star has admitted that he never had any intention of going his own way when Clarkson was fired from the BBC show earlier this year.

Speaking on Australian TV show Today, Hammond said: "I think it’s just being realistic – there’s nothing else we can do now, it’s literally our only function,’ he said. ‘So yes, we’ll stick together."

Discussing their live stadium show, which they've brought to the country, he said: "We’ve been coming to Australia, or this show has, for a lot of years now, but this year we decided we’re going to give them a bit of a treat because we don’t want to wear the place out, we’ve been coming here year after year, let’s really put our backs into it."

He added: "So all three of us have come over here for the first time ever for Sydney, and we’ve decided to put together a whole new show – whether we’ve overreached ourselves will be revealed."

The presenting trio recently appeared to confirm that they'd signed up to front a brand new motoring show together.

Speaking on stage in Perth during their live tour, Clarkson said: "Amazingly, there had been a lot of interest in us doing a car show for television.

“Who knows, very soon once more you will be seeing us on a television or an internet near where you live.”

Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans has since been announced as Clarkson's Top Gear replacement, while his female co-host is yet to be confirmed.