 Complete the following phrase:  Pérez finished the first three races of the season outside the points. He then achieved his eighth career podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, finishing 3rd after an incident-strewn race. He passed then-championship leader Sebastian Vettel for 3rd place with a few laps to go, making him the first driver to finish on the podium twice at the Baku City Circuit in 2016 and 2018. Another points finish came with 9th place in Spain. In France, he retired from the race with an engine failure. Three consecutive points finishes followed, with 7th-place finishes in Austria and 