The event took place at the Autódromo Gálvez in Buenos Aires. The 1953 Grand Prix was run to Formula Two regulations. President Juan Perón's decision to allow free access to the circuit resulted in an excessive number of spectators lining the track. This decision, while contributing to the large crowd, also created a dangerous situation as evidenced by subsequent events.
The inaugural Argentine Grand Prix was attended by four of the major works teams: Maserati, Ferrari, Cooper, and Gordini. Former World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who had not competed in the Championship since clinching the 1951 title in Spain, raced for Maserati alongside fellow Argentines José Froilán González and Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, and Italian driver Felice Bonetto. Ferrari lined up with the familiar trio of reigning World Champion Alberto Ascari, Nino Farina, and Luigi Villoresi, as well as their new signing Mike Hawthorn, who had driven a privateer Cooper the previous year.
Ascari was once again the fastest qualifier, taking his fourth consecutive World Championship pole position. His teammates Villoresi and Farina lined up third and fourth, but the returning Fangio prevented a Ferrari front row lockout by qualifying second in his Maserati. The race itself was led from start to finish by Ascari. Fangio was in second until a transmission issue forced him to retire from the race.
On lap 31, Nino Farina swerved to avoid a spectator who wandered onto the track and crashed into the crowd, killing 13 spectators. In the resulting mass panic, a boy ran in front of Brown's Cooper and was killed. Despite the severity of the incident, the race continued.
Ascari, who started from pole, led the entirety of the race, taking his seventh consecutive World Championship race victory, and, in so doing, established an early lead in the Drivers' Championship. Hawthorn finished fourth, ahead of Gálvez, who took the final points in his first and only World Championship race. The final classification saw only the top five drivers—Ascari, Villoresi, González, Hawthorn, and Gálvez—earning points.
Car #28: Maurice Trintignant (50 laps) and Harry Schell (41 laps).
| Pos | Driver | Points | |---|---|---| | 1 | Alberto Ascari | 9 | | 2 | Luigi Villoresi | 6 | | 3 | José Froilán González | 4 | | 4 | Mike Hawthorn | 3 | | 5 | Oscar Alfredo Gálvez | 2 |
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus: a Wikipedia article on the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix. No external sources were consulted.