Three takeaways from the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

After a four-week break, Formula 1 cars were back on the track Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for the United States Grand Prix — a race filled with all kinds of action and surprises.

Charles Leclerc had a brilliantly opportunistic start, jumping from fourth to first at turn one. He passed all of Lando Norris, Max Verstappen as well as his teammate Carlos Sainz, putting on a flawless drive to grab an unexpected victory. 

This race had everything: from battles for points all over the field, to controversial penalties and unexpected team finishes. Let's look at three takeaways from the United States Grand Prix and what they could mean for the rest of the season. 

Ferrari's upgrades look like the real deal

Since the Miami Grand Prix back in May, there's been somewhat of a two-horse battle between Red Bull and McLaren at the front of the grid. However, after bringing the final pieces to their upgrade package to Austin, Ferrari may have put the rest of the grid on notice that it's not going anywhere anytime soon. 

The Scuderia drivers were both quick across the weekend, suggesting that the team has alleviated all the performance losses it has been having in the high-speed corners for the past few months. Leclerc and Sainz both put in top-class performances this weekend, pulling away from the rest of the grid with ease and securing the team's first one-two finish in the United States since 2005.

Ferrari sits third in the constructor's standings with McLaren's championship lead only 48 points away. If the team can maintain a solid podium form for the rest of the season, it has a real chance to win the constructors' championship. 

Mercedes' performance nightmare keeps getting worse

After George Russell's win in Austria and Lewis Hamilton's wins in England and Belgium over the summer, it seemed that Mercedes had fixed all its issues from the past few years. ... But, evidently, that is not the case. 

Mercedes showed some decent pace during the sprint race this weekend, finishing in fifth and sixth. Unfortunately for Mercedes, it all went downhill after the sprint. Russell crashed out in qualifying and Hamilton spun out on lap three at the same corner his teammate did and was subsequently out of the race. Team boss Toto Wolff reiterated that the issue is "100 percent the car," signaling that Mercedes' performance issues are still baffling the team and will need to be solved if it hopes to compete next season.

Lando Norris' title hopes seem over

Norris' title hopes seemed unlikely even after his big win in Singapore, but after a disappointing weekend in Austin, they may be all but done. Norris's championship hopes relied on him winning every race and every sprint while hoping Verstappen finished in second place or lower. While Verstappen did finish in third, after a five-second time penalty, Norris finished in fourth place which could signal the end of his unlikely title charge.

Verstappen's current championship lead is 57 points and with only five races to go, it seems like too high of a mountain for Norris to climb despite the incredible performance the McLaren car has.