The 1981 Argentine Grand Prix was Round 3 of the 1981 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday, 12 April 1981. Nelson Piquet started on pole position in the Brabham Ford and was the race winner.
1981 Argentine Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Ford | Michelin | 53 | 1:34:32.740 | 1:34:32.740 | - | - | 1:45.287 | 6 | 200.740 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Williams Ford | Michelin | 53 | +26.610 | 1:34:59.350 | +26.610 | +26.610 | 1:46.261 | 43 | 199.800 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 15 | Alain Prost | France | Renault | Michelin | 53 | +49.980 | 1:35:22.720 | +49.980 | +23.370 | 1:46.575 | 6 | 198.980 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Michelin | 53 | +1:07.880 | 1:35:40.620 | +1:07.880 | +17.900 | 1:47.013 | 36 | 198.360 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 16 | René Arnoux | France | Renault | Michelin | 53 | +1:31.850 | 1:36:04.590 | +1:31.850 | +23.970 | 1:47.183 | 33 | 197.540 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Lotus Ford | Michelin | 52 | +1 lap | 1:34:39.530 | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:47.654 | 43 | 196.710 | 10 | 1 |
| 7 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Michelin | 52 | +1 lap | 1:34:47.920 | 1 lap | +8.390 | 1:48.306 | 40 | 196.420 | 9 | |
| 8 | 22 | Mario Andretti | United States | Alfa Romeo | Michelin | 52 | +1 lap | 1:35:07.350 | 1 lap | +19.430 | 1:48.492 | 18 | 195.760 | 17 | |
| 9 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Italy | Arrows Ford | Michelin | 52 | +1 lap | 1:35:50.260 | 1 lap | +42.910 | 1:48.836 | 28 | 194.300 | 19 | |
| 10 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Italy | Alfa Romeo | Michelin | 51 | Out of Fuel | 1:33:39.410 | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:48.324 | 37 | 195.000 | 22 | |
| 11 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | Italy | McLaren Ford | Michelin | 51 | +2 laps | 1:34:51.650 | 2 laps | +1:12.240 | 1:49.853 | 18 | 192.520 | 18 | |
| 12 | 9 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | ATS Ford | Michelin | 51 | +2 laps | 1:35:48.320 | 2 laps | +56.670 | 1:49.146 | 37 | 190.620 | 23 | |
| 13 | 4 | Ricardo Zunino | Argentina | Tyrrell Ford | Michelin | 51 | +2 laps | 1:36:14.700 | 2 laps | +26.380 | 1:49.017 | 33 | 189.750 | 24 | |
| DNF | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 40 | Transmission | 1:13:30.950 | 1:48.834 | 37 | 194.840 | 7 | |||
| DNF | 33 | Patrick Tambay | France | Theodore Ford | Michelin | 36 | Oil Leak | 1:05:42.080 | 1:47.860 | 30 | 196.210 | 14 | |||
| DNF | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Michelin | 36 | Transmission | 1:09:11.760 | 1:47.342 | 31 | 186.300 | 11 | |||
| DNF | 6 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Brabham Ford | Michelin | 32 | Electrical | 57:16.110 | 1:46.353 | 8 | 200.090 | 6 | |||
| DNF | 21 | Chico Serra | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Michelin | 28 | Gearbox | 52:19.130 | 1:49.954 | 10 | 191.640 | 20 | |||
| DNF | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | Michelin | 19 | Handling | 35:56.170 | 1:50.065 | 5 | 189.330 | 21 | |||
| DNF | 14 | Marc Surer | Switzerland | Ensign Ford | Michelin | 14 | Engine | 26:01.720 | 1:48.770 | 4 | 192.610 | 16 | |||
| DNF | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Fittipaldi Ford | Michelin | 4 | Fuel System | 7:36.210 | 1:48.921 | 3 | 188.380 | 8 | |||
| DNF | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Great Britain | Lotus Ford | Michelin | 3 | Engine | 5:51.490 | 1:50.880 | 2 | 183.380 | 15 | |||
| DNF | 28 | Didier Pironi | France | Ferrari | Michelin | 3 | Engine | 5:56.900 | 1:49.222 | 2 | 180.600 | 12 | |||
| DNF | 3 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Tyrrell Ford | Michelin | 1 | Clutch | 3:05.302 | 3:05.302 | 1 | 115.948 | 13 | |||
| DNQ | 31 | Miguel Angel Guerra | Argentina | Osella Hart | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 32 | Beppe Gabbiani | Italy | Osella Hart | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 17 | Derek Daly | Ireland | March | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 25 | Jean Pierre Jabouille | France | Ligier Matra | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 18 | Eliseo Salazar | Chile | March | Michelin |