The race took place during a period of intense heat in the Argentinian summer, which proved taxing for both machinery and competitors. It was the third running of the Argentine Grand Prix and the first of seven races scheduled for the 1955 World Championship. To prepare for the conditions, Juan Manuel Fangio moved to Argentina one month prior to the event. According to former Ferrari and Maserati chief mechanic Giulio Borsari, Fangio acclimatized by reducing his daily water consumption to one liter to better cope with the expected heat.
José Froilán González secured pole position in the No. 12 Ferrari. The defending champion team, Mercedes, expanded its effort to four drivers for the 1955 season by signing Stirling Moss, though the team qualified lower than expected, occupying positions from third to tenth on the grid. Fangio started the race from third.
The high temperatures caused widespread exhaustion among the field, leading to a significant number of shared drives as drivers took breaks or swapped into different cars. Of the 21 cars that started, five were retired after only two laps. None of the entries from Lancia or Gordini reached the mid-point of the race.
Fangio and Roberto Mieres were the only two competitors to complete the race without handing their cars over to teammates. While others succumbed to heat exhaustion or team orders, the 43-year-old Fangio maintained his pace for the full 3-hour duration. During the event, Fangio's leg rubbed against a chassis frame heated by the exhaust, resulting in severe burns that left a permanent scar. Despite these injuries, he set the fastest lap of the race.
Mercedes faced reliability issues with the cars of Stirling Moss and Karl Kling. After their primary vehicles were out of the race, both Moss and Kling took over the No. 8 car originally driven by Hans Herrmann. This three-way shared drive eventually finished in fourth place.
Ferrari utilized multiple driver swaps to secure the remaining podium positions. The No. 12 car, started by González, was shared with Nino Farina and Maurice Trintignant to finish second. Simultaneously, the No. 10 car, originally entered for Umberto Maglioli, was shared with Farina and Trintignant to finish third. Consequently, Farina and Trintignant were credited with podium finishes in two different cars.
Only seven cars finished the race, and only two—driven by Fangio and Mieres—covered the complete 96-lap distance. Fangio's victory earned him eight points for the win plus one point for the fastest lap. Due to the shared drive regulations of 1955, the points for second, third, and fourth places were divided among the contributing drivers. Farina and Trintignant each earned 3 1/3 points for their combined efforts across two cars.
Fangio required three months to recover from the burns sustained during the race. During this recovery period, he managed to win the Formula Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix in late January, driving a Mercedes powered by a 3.0-liter sports car engine. He later finished second in the 1955 Mille Miglia before the World Championship resumed at Monaco in late May.
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Laps | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Mercedes | 96 | | 2 | José Froilán González / Nino Farina / Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | 96 | | 3 | Nino Farina / Umberto Maglioli / Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | 94 | | 4 | Hans Herrmann / Stirling Moss / Karl Kling | Mercedes | 94 | | 5 | Roberto Mieres | Maserati | 91 |