Having done some testing for Tyrrell in 1986, Campos raced in the and F1 seasons for the Minardi team, alongside first Alessandro Nannini and then compatriot Luis Pérez-Sala. He only completed two of the 21 races he entered, although more of these were due to mechanical failures than driving errors. However, these retirements caused him to lose his motivation and in 1988, he was replaced by Pierluigi Martini after failing to qualify in three consecutive races.
After Formula One
Campos competed in Spanish Touring Cars, winning the championship in 1994. 1997 would be the last year Campos would spend as a professional driver. After some races in sports prototypes such as the Ferrari 333SP, he would go on to form his own team as an owner.
After F1, Campos has been successfully involved in team management. He founded Adrian Campos Motorsport in 1998, with Marc Gené winning the Open Fortuna by Nissan championship in its first year before immediately reaching Formula One. He also ran Fernando Alonso in his early years. The team entered the GP2 series when it was launched for 2005. Two fifth places were the best results that year. The team opened 2006 with a podium at Valencia for Adrian Valles, but neither he nor fellow Spaniard Félix Porteiro scored another podium all year. The signing of veteran Giorgio Pantano for 2007 lead the team forward, Pantano scoring two victories and 3rd overall, with teammate Vitaly Petrov also winning at the season finale at Valencia. For 2008 Petrov remained, with Ben Hanley replaced in the second car by Lucas di Grassi after three rounds. Di Grassi immediately recaptured his 2007 form, with three second places in his first four starts, and subsequent wins at the Hungaroring and the new Valencia Street Circuit - which represented a double for the team, as Petrov won race one, having scored just one other podium all year. The Campos team won the 2008 Teams' Championship. In October 2008, Campos announced that he plans to step down from running the GP2 team and to sell his stake in it, but will still remain involved in F3 and a new project that is unspecified. The GP2 team was taken over by Alejandro Agag and renamed Barwa Addax.
Formula One
Campos had been linked to a move into Formula One, and he considered buying the assets of the defunct Super Aguri team. In May 2009, Campos Grand Prix lodged an entry for the 2010 Formula One season, which was one of four new ones to be accepted. The entry was successful along with Lotus F1, Manor GP & US F1. The team, which was soon renamed to Campos Meta, confirmed on 30 October 2009 that Bruno Senna, who is Ayrton Senna's nephew, would be one of their drivers on the grid in 2010. In February 2010, with the Campos team struggling financially, a rescue deal was completed whereby shareholder José Ramón Carabante took over full control of the team. As part of the restructuring, Campos was replaced as team principal by Colin Kolles. The team was renamed Hispania Racing, with Campos taking the role of executive vice-president.
