| Type: | F1 |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Grand Prix: | Argentine Grand Prix |
| Official Name: | XVII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina |
| Date: | 12 April |
| Year: | 1981 |
| Race No: | 3 |
| Season No: | 15 |
| Location: | Autodromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Course: | Permanent racing facility |
| Course Mi: | 3.708 |
| Course Km: | 5.968 |
| Distance Laps: | 53 |
| Distance Mi: | 196.542 |
| Distance Km: | 316.304 |
| Weather: | Sunny, dry |
| Pole Driver: |  Nelson Piquet |
| Pole Team: | Brabham-Ford |
| Pole Time: | 1:42.665 |
| Fast Driver: | Nelson Piquet |
| Fast Team: | Brabham-Ford |
| Fast Time: | 1:45.287 |
| Fast Lap: | 6 |
| First Driver: | Nelson Piquet |
| First Team: | Brabham-Ford |
| Second Driver: |  Carlos Reutemann |
| Second Team: | Williams-Ford |
| Third Driver: |  Alain Prost |
| Third Team: | Renault |
The 1981 Argentine Grand Prix was the third race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship and was held at the Buenos Aires circuit in Argentina on 12 April 1981. This was the last Argentine Grand Prix until 1995. Thanks to designer Gordon Murray's alternative solution to flexible side skirts, the Brabham cars of Nelson Piquet and Héctor Rebaque were dominant in this race, with Piquet (who took pole at an average speed of 130.029 mph (209.261 km/h)) taking the lead immediately from Alan Jones on the back straight and Rebaque climbing up from 5th to 2nd over 23 laps.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:42.665 | 1:44.364 | — | |
| 2 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:42.981 | 1:43.748 | +0.316 | |
| 3 | 1 |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:44.662 | 1:43.638 | +0.973 | |
| 4 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:43.935 | 1:44.094 | +1.270 | |
| 5 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:43.997 | 1:44.080 | +1.332 | |
| 6 | 6 |  Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 1:44.712 | 1:44.100 | +1.435 | |
| 7 | 27 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:44.236 | 1:44.132 | +1.467 | |
| 8 | 20 |  Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:45.273 | 1:44.191 | +1.526 | |
| 9 | 29 |  Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:45.008 | 1:45.357 | +2.343 | |
| 10 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:45.252 | 1:45.065 | +2.400 | |
| 11 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:45.073 | 1:45.202 | +2.408 | |
| 12 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:45.108 | 1:45.599 | +2.443 | |
| 13 | 3 |  Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:45.117 | 1:45.357 | +2.452 | |
| 14 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | 1:46.872 | 1:45.297 | +2.632 | |
| 15 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:45.369 | 1:45.790 | +2.704 | |
| 16 | 14 |  Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 1:45.734 | 1:46.188 | +3.069 | |
| 17 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:46.329 | 1:46.059 | +3.394 | |
| 18 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 1:46.387 | 1:46.663 | +3.722 | |
| 19 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 1:47.342 | 1:46.444 | +3.779 | |
| 20 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:46.743 | 1:46.706 | +4.041 | |
| 21 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:46.854 | 1:47.594 | +4.189 | |
| 22 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:47.109 | 1:46.918 | +4.253 | |
| 23 | 9 |  Jan Lammers | ATS-Ford | 1:47.174 | 1:47.576 | +4.509 | |
| 24 | 4 | Ricardo Zunino | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:47.464 | 1:48.143 | +4.799 | |
| 25 | 31 | Miguel Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford | 1:47.609 | 1:48.571 | +4.944 | |
| 26 | 32 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:48.121 | 1:48.203 | +5.456 | |
| 27 | 17 |  Derek Daly | March-Ford | 1:48.191 | 1:49.571 | +5.526 | |
| 28 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | 1:49.581 | 1:50.226 | +6.916 | |
| 29 | 18 |  Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford | no time | 1:51.086 | +8.421 | |
| Source:[1] | |||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | 21 | |
| 2 | Alan Jones | 18 | |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | 13 | |
| 4 | Riccardo Patrese | 4 | |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 4 | |
| Source:[2] | |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Ford | 39 | |
| 2 | Brabham-Ford | 13 | |
| 3 | Renault | 6 | |
| 4 | Arrows-Ford | 4 | |
| 5 | Alfa Romeo | 3 | |
| Source: | |||