AUSTIN, Texas -- Lewis Hamilton praised Austin's "unbelievable" Circuit of the Americas as the blueprint other Formula 1 venues should follow, brushing off criticisms over a new corporate building atop the venue's famous Turn 1 hill.
Austin's iconic first corner now features a new hospitality unit towering over the circuit, accessible via a ski lift from the paddock.
It will host paddock VIPs this year and be rolled out to invite-only members in years to come.
The facility has come under criticism from fans on social media but Hamilton defended the circuit on Saturday after qualifying.
"It's so easy for people to just be always negative about everything," Hamilton said when asked his thoughts on the new building.
"At the end of the day it's an incredible building, the ski lift up to it is pretty phenomenal. What Bobby [Epstein, circuit owner] and his team have done with this track, if you think of the whole place, the fairground, the stage where people perform, it's an unbelievable circuit.
"I think it's one of the best overall circuits, it's super clean, access, getting in, everything. The grandstands, this whole paddock, for me it's one of the best."
The new facility has not changed the location of the main grandstand but is impossible to miss on TV broadcasts on what was previously an unrestricted view of the clear blue Texas sky.
Hamilton said this is another area where the Austin circuit should be used as an example by other venues.
"This weekend, I don't know if you saw, but on Thursday I've been doing a lot of work over the years," he said.
"Honestly, I don't even notice that [while driving], but I think I have a suite up in that building and I'll go up to it tomorrow. It's probably one of the most amazing places to watch the race."
It's created constant movement over Turn 1 with six ski lift gondolas moving back and forth between paddock and the new building.
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McLaren's Oscar Piastri joked that it startled him on the first lap this week.
"There's a bit more atmosphere, a bit more going on," Piastri said. "Before you kind of looked at the sky. Now you can see a few more people. The cable cars ... The first lap, I was like, OK, that's pretty close!
"But after that, yeah, I mean, I think it adds to the atmosphere in some ways, so it's not changed much."
Hamilton also praised Austin's venue for its continued work with him and his Mission 44 charity.
The seven-time world champion's charity, set up in 2021, aims to provide inclusive education and employment opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Hamilton said this is another area where the Austin circuit should be used as an example by other venues.
"This weekend, I don't know if you saw, but on Thursday I've been doing a lot of work over the years," he said.
"Bobby's been really great at letting us work with Mission 44 and bringing kids. We've brought a lot of kids over the last five years from the state here. Kids coming in and getting to speak to engineers. Susie [Wolff] does a great job at F1 Academy and this year they brought 8,000 kids to the track, which is huge compared to ... It's a big, big step, really trying to inspire [people] and we need more tracks to do that."