The No. 6 circuit in its base form measures 4.101 km (2.548 miles) with 16 turns. A modified variant used for the final Formula One seasons from 1995 to 1998 incorporated the Senna S chicane — replacing the original Tobogán bend — extending the layout to 4.259 km (2.645 miles) with 19 turns. The Senna S was inserted as a speed-reduction measure at the fast entry to the back section of the circuit, and was widely regarded as an unsatisfying substitute for the flowing Tobogán it replaced. The circuit is built on flat Buenos Aires terrain within the large Autódromo complex, which has operated more than fifteen distinct configurations across its history.
Earlier Formula One configurations at the same complex included No. 2 (used 1954–1960), No. 9 (1971–1973), and the fast No. 15 (1974–1981), the latter featuring long straights and a sweeping third corner that many drivers took flat in top gear.
The No. 6 with Senna S served as the terminal Formula One layout for the Argentine Grand Prix, hosting four consecutive championship rounds from 1995 to 1998. Argentina's return to the calendar in 1995 followed a fifteen-year absence and was made possible by an extensive refurbishment of the Autódromo's facilities, including new pits, revised barriers, and the No. 6 layout itself. The twisty character of the Senna S variant was not considered well-suited to modern Formula One machinery by many observers of the era. Michael Schumacher won the 1998 Argentine Grand Prix for Ferrari — the final Formula One race held at the circuit — before funding from the Argentine government dried up and the event left the calendar.
The circuit also hosted MotoGP motorcycle world championship rounds from 1961 to 1999, continuing for one year after Formula One's departure.
The complex was inaugurated on 9 March 1952 as the Autódromo 17 de Octubre under President Juan Perón. It was renamed multiple times across the following decades as Argentine political regimes changed: it became Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires, then Autódromo General San Martín after the 1976 military coup, and reverted to a municipal name after democracy returned in 1983. In 1989 it was renamed in honour of Oscar Alfredo Gálvez (1913–1989), a celebrated Turismo Carretera champion who had died of cancer, and updated to Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez in 2008 to also commemorate his brother Juan Gálvez (1916–1963), another major figure in Argentine motorsport.
The 1000 km Buenos Aires, run between 1954 and 1971 (with a revival in the 1980s and 2000s), was one of South America's most significant endurance events and the only regular South American round of the World Sportscar Championship for much of its life.
From the mid-2000s the circuit entered a period of reduced activity and deferred maintenance. A programme of renovations beginning in 2017 addressed grandstand seating, drainage, barrier replacement, and kerbing. The Autódromo has been linked to a MotoGP return in 2027, subject to completing upgrades to meet required homologation standards.