The race was the 16th Argentine Grand Prix and the sixth held on the #15 variation of the Buenos Aires circuit. It ran over 53 laps of the 5.81-kilometre circuit for a total distance of 308 kilometres. Before the event began, drivers threatened to boycott the race due to the deteriorating state of the track surface. Intense summer heat in Buenos Aires had caused the infield sections of the circuit to break apart in multiple spots, creating hazardous conditions and tyre-punishing bumps throughout the lap.
The immense aerodynamic suction generated by ground effect technology amplified the strain on the crumbling surface, and lap times were considerably slower than in the previous year's race. An early battle developed between Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari 312T5, and Jacques Laffite in a Ligier JS11/15. Despite spinning off the track twice during the race, Jones held on to win. Piquet also suffered a spin but maintained second. Laffite retired with a blown engine and Villeneuve crashed in the fast Tobogán complex following a front suspension failure, an outcome most likely worsened by repeated excursions onto the slippery grass run-off and repeated contact with the apex kerbs.
Home favourite Carlos Reutemann, making his debut for Williams, had risen from tenth to fifth at the start before attempting to pass Piquet on the outside of the Ascari chicane. He slid onto the grass, where the two radiators of his Williams FW07 became blocked and the engine overheated, eventually failing. After retiring, Reutemann remained motionless in the car for several minutes before sitting on the track beside it and weeping; he had never won his home Grand Prix and would never do so.
Jody Scheckter held third place until a Ferrari engine failure ended his race with only a handful of laps remaining, elevating Rosberg to third and his first Formula One podium.
Alan Jones' victory was his sixth World Championship win and represented the fifth Grand Slam recorded by an Australian driver. The race also marked the first podium finish for both Piquet and Rosberg, and the first ever Formula One podium for a Finnish driver.
The event saw the World Championship debut of future world champion Alain Prost, who scored a championship point on his first appearance by finishing sixth in a McLaren M29. Swedish driver Stefan Johansson, Irish driver David Kennedy, and Italian constructor Osella also made their Formula One World Championship debuts at this race.
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