The 1964 Formula One season was the 18th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 15th World Championship of Drivers, the 7th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and eight non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over ten races between 10 May and 25 October 1964.

John Norman Surtees, was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with three consecutive doubles between 1958 and 1960, winning six World Championships in both the 500 and 350cc classes. Surtees then made the move to the pinnacle of motorsport, the Formula One World Championship, and in 1964 made motor racing history by becoming the Formula One World Champion. To this day Surtees remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels. He founded the Surtees Racing Organisation team that competed as a constructor in Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula 5000 from 1970 to 1978. He was also the ambassador of the Racing Steps Foundation.