The F1.08 was launched on 14 January 2008 in Munich, with a brief demonstration at BMW Welt the same day. The chassis was designed by Willy Rampf, Walter Reidl, Christoph Zimmermann, and Willem Toet, with the powertrain handled by Markus Duesmann. It was the first BMW Sauber car not designed by Jörg Zander, who had left the team to join Honda F1. Aerodynamically, the sidepods were substantially redesigned to improve airflow to the rear wing, and a new triple-profile front wing suspended above the nose was introduced. During testing the team also experimented with vertical fins on the nosecone, nicknamed "antlers."
The FIA also introduced a set of technical changes for 2008, most notably a standard McLaren Electronic Systems ECU for all teams, eliminating the use of driving aids such as traction control and engine braking.
The F1.08 delivered BMW Sauber's best Formula One season. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld started the year in strong form: Heidfeld finished second in Melbourne, Kubica second in Malaysia, and at Bahrain Kubica claimed pole position by 0.027 seconds over Felipe Massa's Ferrari. After Bahrain, BMW Sauber led the Constructors' Championship, a point ahead of Ferrari.
The season's highlight came at the Canadian Grand Prix. Kubica qualified second and ran in the top two before the race was disrupted by Adrian Sutil's accident. During the subsequent pit stops under the safety car, Lewis Hamilton ran into the rear of Kimi Räikkönen as both exited the pit lane, eliminating both championship leaders. Heidfeld briefly led the race but was passed by Kubica after the pit stops, and the two BMW Sauber cars finished first and second — Kubica ahead by some sixteen seconds, Heidfeld in second, David Coulthard a distant third. It was Kubica's maiden Formula One victory, and the first win for a BMW engine since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The team's development was partly diverted toward the 2009 car from mid-season, a decision that frustrated Kubica as he remained in championship contention. Performance relative to Ferrari and McLaren declined in the second half of the season. Despite this, the team finished third in the Constructors' Championship, improving on its 2007 result.
The F1.08 remains the pinnacle of what the Sauber organisation has achieved in Formula One. An off-season test used a heavily modified "B-spec" version of the car to evaluate 2009 aerodynamics, slick tyres, and a prototype KERS system simultaneously, attracting considerable attention. BMW Sauber test driver Christian Klien described the hybrid test chassis as "the worst-looking Formula One car I have ever seen," a reflection of how radically different the experimental body panels appeared from a conventional racing car. In 2012, a production F1.08 chassis was cut in half on display, a project conceived by a former car chief that had been worked on behind the scenes for around two years.