Born on 30 September 1946 in Dorfen, Bavaria, Mass’s family originated in Mecklenburg, where his grandfather worked as a ship captain. This led to Mass working on merchant ships after leaving school, fostering a lifelong passion for boats and sailing. His interest in racing began later in life, after attending a hillclimbing race where his girlfriend worked as a steward. He then left his job on a ship and began an apprenticeship at an Alfa Romeo dealership in Mannheim.
Mass began his racing career in Formula Super Vee, Formula Three, and European Formula Two. In 1973, he finished runner-up in the European Formula Two Championship. Prior to this, in 1972, he took victory at the 24 Hours of Spa alongside Hans-Joachim Stuck. He made his Formula One debut at the 1973 British Grand Prix with Surtees, making sporadic appearances before securing a full-time seat in 1974.
Mass moved to McLaren from the Canadian Grand Prix in 1974 onwards. He achieved his only Formula One race win at the curtailed 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, after Rolf Stommelen’s car crashed and caught fire, resulting in the deaths of four spectators and injuries to twelve more. In his final season with McLaren in 1977, Mass finished a career-best sixth in the World Drivers' Championship, having taken several podiums with the team. After a disappointing 1978 season with ATS, where he failed to qualify for three races and broke his leg during testing, Mass spent two seasons at Arrows.
During the 1980 Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg, Mass was seriously injured when his Arrows A3 rolled over during practice, bruising his neck and fracturing vertebrae. He returned to racing in 1982 with March, but retired from Formula One after an incident with Mauro Baldi at the 1982 French Grand Prix, only two months after the death of Gilles Villeneuve.
Outside of Formula One, Mass competed in 12 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1972 to 1995. He won in 1989 alongside Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens, driving the Sauber C9. He also finished runner-up at Le Mans in 1982 with Porsche, and was runner-up in the World Sportscar Championship in both 1984 and 1989. He was champion of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft in 1985, and twice finished runner-up in Interserie, all with Joest. He also achieved race wins in the British Saloon Car Championship.
Following his retirement from racing, Mass became a commentator for RTL from 1993 to 1997. He also made frequent appearances at Goodwood events, including the Festival of Speed and the Revival, from the 1990s onwards. In 2013, he appeared as himself in the film Rush.
Mass resided in Monaco during his racing career, later moving to Southern France with his wife Bettina. He had two sons with his first wife Esti, and two daughters with Bettina. He died in Cannes, France on 4 May 2025, due to complications from a stroke suffered in February of the same year, at the age of 78.
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