For the fourth consecutive race, the Renaults filled the front row, with Alain Prost 0.079 seconds ahead of René Arnoux.

The top ten was completed by Mario Andretti in the Alfa Romeo, John Watson in the McLaren, Elio de Angelis in the Lotus and Riccardo Patrese in the Arrows.

At the front of the field, Arnoux was unable to keep up with the pace and dropped four places, behind Jones, Piquet, Laffite and Reutemann.

Reutemann and Laffite, in the meantime, battled fiercely for fourth, ending with both cars crashing out of the race on the 18th lap.

This would prove to be crucial in the World Championship standings, for if Jones had kept second, Piquet would have missed out on the title at the final race of the season.