On 4 October 2010, Sauber announced that Pérez would join the team in 2011, replacing Nick Heidfeld.
Sauber subsequently announced a partnership with Pérez's sponsor Telmex.
He became the fifth Mexican to compete in Formula One, and the first since Héctor Rebaque competed between 1977 and 1981.
He also became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy scheme in October 2010.

Pérez finished seventh in his first race, the Australian Grand Prix, impressing observers by stopping to change tyres only once, becoming the only driver in the field to make fewer than two stops.
However, both Sauber cars were subsequently disqualified for infringing technical regulations.
He failed to repeat the result in Malaysia where body parts flew off Sébastien Buemi's Toro Rosso car and into the electrical system of Pérez's Sauber, forcing his retirement.
The Chinese Grand Prix saw him start in 12th position and he struggled during the race as well as making contact with several drivers en route to 17th.
He followed that up with fourteenth in Turkey, before a ninth-place finish in Spain – ahead of teammate Kamui Kobayashi in tenth – to take his first Formula One points.

During the third part of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, Pérez lost control of his car upon exiting the circuit's tunnel section, swung to the right and crashed into the barrier, before sliding across the chicane and hitting the TecPro barrier with a heavy side impact.
He was seen holding his hands around his head in an attempt to protect it just before the final impact.
The session was suspended, and marshals and medical personnel extricated Pérez from his car.
A Sauber team spokesman said that he was conscious and able to talk after the accident, and had been taken to the circuit's medical centre.
He suffered a sprained thigh and concussion, and did not take part in the race the following day, on medical grounds.
After taking part in the first practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix, Pérez did not feel well enough and decided not to take any further part, and was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.

Pérez returned for the European Grand Prix and finished eleventh after attempting to run the race on a one-stop strategy.
He took a career best seventh at the British Grand Prix and eleventh in Germany.
After a fifteenth place in Hungary, he retired in Belgium with suspension failure.
This was followed by a gearbox failure while running seventh in Italy, before he scored a point in Singapore after losing ninth place to Felipe Massa.
In Japan he took eighth place, before a sixteenth-place finish in Korea, tenth in India, and an eleventh-place finish in Abu Dhabi.
He finished sixteenth in the Drivers' Championship with fourteen points.

On 28 July, it was announced that Pérez would remain with Sauber into the 2012 season, alongside teammate Kobayashi.
On 13 September, Pérez tested for Ferrari as part of the Ferrari Driver Academy in a Ferrari F60, Ferrari's car from the 2009 season.
Pérez conducted the test with fellow academy member Jules Bianchi.
On 4 October 2010, Sauber announced that Pérez would join the team in 2011, replacing Nick Heidfeld. Sauber subsequently announced a partnership with Pérez's sponsor Telmex. He became the fifth Mexican to compete in Formula One, and the first since Héctor Rebaque competed between 1977 and 1981. He also became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy scheme in October 2010.
Pérez finished seventh in his first race, the Australian Grand Prix, impressing observers by stopping to change tyres only once, becoming the only driver in the field to make fewer than two stops. However, both Sauber cars were subsequently disqualified for infringing technical regulations. He failed to repeat the result in Malaysia where body parts flew off Sébastien Buemi's Toro Rosso car and into the electrical system of Pérez's Sauber, forcing his retirement. The Chinese Grand Prix saw him start in 12th position and he struggled during the race as well as making contact with several drivers en route to 17th. He followed that up with fourteenth in Turkey, before a ninth-place finish in Spain – ahead of teammate Kamui Kobayashi in tenth – to take his first Formula One points.
During the third part of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, Pérez lost control of his car upon exiting the circuit's tunnel section, swung to the right and crashed into the barrier, before sliding across the chicane and hitting the TecPro barrier with a heavy side impact. He was seen holding his hands around his head in an attempt to protect it just before the final impact. The session was suspended, and marshals and medical personnel extricated Pérez from his car. A Sauber team spokesman said that he was conscious and able to talk after the accident, and had been taken to the circuit's medical centre. He suffered a sprained thigh and concussion, and did not take part in the race the following day, on medical grounds. After taking part in the first practice session of the Canadian Grand Prix, Pérez did not feel well enough and decided not to take any further part, and was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.
Pérez returned for the European Grand Prix and finished eleventh after attempting to run the race on a one-stop strategy. He took a career best seventh at the British Grand Prix and eleventh in Germany. After a fifteenth place in Hungary, he retired in Belgium with suspension failure. This was followed by a gearbox failure while running seventh in Italy, before he scored a point in Singapore after losing ninth place to Felipe Massa. In Japan he took eighth place, before a sixteenth-place finish in Korea, tenth in India, and an eleventh-place finish in Abu Dhabi. He finished sixteenth in the Drivers' Championship with fourteen points.
On 28 July, it was announced that Pérez would remain with Sauber into the 2012 season, alongside teammate Kobayashi. On 13 September, Pérez tested for Ferrari as part of the Ferrari Driver Academy in a Ferrari F60, Ferrari's car from the 2009 season. Pérez conducted the test with fellow academy member Jules Bianchi.
Sergio Pérez