On 16 January 2017, Wehrlein signed with Sauber. He was forced to miss the first test in Barcelona due to an injury he sustained while competing in the Race of Champions. He was replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi before returning for the second test at the same circuit. Despite being fit to take part in the , he later withdrew after participating in the first two practice sessions, with Giovinazzi replacing him for the rest of the race weekend. On 3 April 2017, Sauber F1 announced Wehrlein would again be replaced by Giovinazzi for the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix. He proceeded with entry into the following Bahrain Grand Prix, qualifying 13th and finishing the race in 11th. He finished eighth in the Spanish Grand Prix after running a one-stop strategy. He did not lose a single one of the places he gained, although a five-second penalty for a pit entry violation cost him seventh to Carlos Sainz Jr. His race at the Monaco Grand Prix ended when, on the 57th lap, Jenson Button tried to lunge down the inside at Portier but succeeded in flipping the Sauber onto its side against the barriers, necessitating another scan of his back. He scored his second points finish of the season in the chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix after fighting hard with his teammate Marcus Ericsson for 10th position. This took his points tally to 5 points. Despite having beaten Ericsson in both qualifying and the majority of races, plus being the only driver who scored points for Sauber that season, on 2 December 2017, Sauber announced that Wehrlein would not be renewed for the 2018 season and that he would be replaced by Charles Leclerc.