Born in Spain, Pérez-Sala began his motorsport journey in karting before moving to production-based cars in the early 1980s. He drove Renault 5s domestically before competing internationally in the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint Cup in 1983, establishing himself as a competitive Spanish talent before transitioning to single-seater racing.
In 1984, Pérez-Sala entered the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in a Ralt-Alfa Romeo. He improved steadily across the season, collecting notable results including a second-place finish at Knutstorp and a fifth at Jarama, ultimately finishing tenth overall in the championship standings.
The following year, 1985, he moved to the Italian Formula 3 Championship, where he delivered a stronger performance, finishing seventh overall and claiming at least one outright race win. The two seasons in Formula 3 demonstrated his ability to adapt to different championships and laid the technical and competitive foundation for his subsequent move to Formula 3000.
After his F3 years, Pérez-Sala graduated to Formula 3000, the primary feeder series to Formula One at the time. He proved far more competitive at this level, winning races at Birmingham and Enna in 1986 to finish fourth in that year's championship. In 1987, now with the factory Lola team, he claimed victories at Donington Park and the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit and finished as runner-up to Stefano Modena in the overall standings — his highest single-season result in motorsport.
His 1987 campaign was not without controversy. A collision with Alfonso de Vinuesa at the F3000 race at Spa-Francorchamps became one of the more talked-about incidents of the season, stemming from a reported personal animosity between the two drivers rooted in political disagreements.
The Minardi Formula One team signed Pérez-Sala for the 1988 season alongside compatriot Adrián Campos, making them the first pair of Spanish drivers to race together as teammates in Formula 1. Pérez-Sala made his Grand Prix debut on 3 April 1988 in Brazil, qualifying twentieth but retiring after his rear wing failed. Over the opening rounds he consistently outpaced Campos, who was replaced mid-season by Pierluigi Martini.
Martini and Pérez-Sala raced together for the remainder of 1988 and through 1989, with Martini holding the upper hand on most metrics. Pérez-Sala's sole championship point came from a sixth-place finish at the 1989 British Grand Prix — the first Formula 1 points scored by a Spanish driver in thirty years. That same race saw both Minardi cars finish in the points, a landmark for the small Italian team. After failing to qualify for the final race of the 1989 season, the Australian Grand Prix, he departed Formula One having started 26 of the 32 Grands Prix he entered.
Post-Formula One, Pérez-Sala found renewed competitive success in the Spanish Touring Car Championship, winning the series titles in 1991 and 1993. He and co-driver Manel Cerqueda took the GTB class title in the Spanish GT Championship in 2003 and 2004, and the pair finished second overall in 2008 in what proved to be his final season of competitive racing.
From 1990 onwards, Pérez-Sala built a parallel career as a motorsport commentator and analyst, working with RTVE, El País, and TV3. He also became an instructor and figurehead for the Joves Pilots del Circuit de Catalunya programme, a driver development initiative backed by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya whose graduates include Jaime Alguersuari, Miguel Molina, Dani Clos, Albert Costa, and Miki Monrás.
In July 2011, Pérez-Sala joined Hispania Racing (HRT) as a consultant, the team having been founded in part by his former Minardi teammate Adrián Campos. On 15 December 2011, he was appointed team principal of HRT, replacing Colin Kolles. He served in that capacity through the 2012 Formula One season.
Pérez-Sala's nephew, Daniel Juncadella, is also a professional racing driver, best known for winning the Macau Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours.