Born in Arisdorf, Surer began kart racing in 1972 at the age of 20. Due to a motor racing ban in Switzerland following the 1955 Le Mans disaster, he moved to Germany in 1974. There, he competed in Formula Vee, finishing second in the local championship. In 1976, he switched to European Formula 3, where he was noticed by Jochen Neerpasch. Neerpasch recruited him into the BMW Junior Team alongside Eddie Cheever and Manfred Winkelhock. Surer finished second in the Formula 2 Championship in 1978 before winning the series the following year in a works March-BMW.
Surer's Formula One debut was at the 1979 Italian Grand Prix with Ensign. His early F1 career was troubled by injuries; he broke his legs in qualifying at the 1980 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami while driving for ATS, and again at the same circuit in 1981, this time racing for Ensign. Despite these injuries, he achieved Ensign's best result with a fourth-place finish at the 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix, also setting the fastest lap of the race. He later drove for Theodore before establishing himself at Arrows for a couple of seasons. BMW's support secured him a seat at Brabham for 1985. Surer returned to Arrows in 1986.
Surer's Formula One career ended halfway through the 1986 season after a serious accident at the ADAC Hessen-Rallye in a Ford RS200. The accident severely injured Surer and tragically resulted in the death of his co-driver and friend, Michel Wyder. BMW retained him after this incident, employing him as a driver, coach, and later as a director of motorsport activities. In 1994 and 1995, Surer, alongside Johnny Cecotto and Jo Winkelhock, won the German Super Touring Car Championship.
In 1996, Surer began working as a television commentator for all Formula One events for Sky Sport (Germany), formerly known as DF1 and Premiere. He worked alongside lead commentator Jacques Schulz until Schulz's withdrawal prior to the 2013 season. Surer continued in this role alongside Sascha Roos until 2017.
Surer has been married three times. His first marriage was to former Playmate Jolanda Egger. He was then married to Christina Surer between 1997 and 2000. On 3 December 2011, he married his longtime partner Silvia Renée Arias.
In 2016, an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study assessing the relative influence of driver and machine ranked Surer as the 17th best Formula One driver of all time. His best F1 championship position was 13th.
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