Picture the scene . . . you're just sitting down to watch the game with your mates. It doesn't matter what kind of game. Maybe you're into rugby, or is football more your style? But you've got a funny feeling that you already know how it's going to turn out. How often has your gut been right? But you can't bet with your mates – they hardly ever pay out if they're wrong. So how could you make money with that gut instinct?

Not for nothing though, is William Hill known as the ‘Home of Betting.' As that game is starting, you should already be typing this address into your Smartphone or laptop, no matter where you are. William Hill will take you straight to all the live events that they offer odds on, and you can make a bet quickly from there. You can look at the odds of each event across all 106 markets before registering and filling out your betting slip. Reckon that one football team has the edge over the other? Or perhaps your gut instinct is singing that Andy Murray has never looked so strong and his opponent is quaking in his shoes? Boxing, cycling, darts – whatever your sport is, William Hill offers bets on far too many to name here.

But it's not just the ability to bet that you'll gain from signing up at William Hill. You'll also be given access to an extensive community of bettors like yourself, found by looking for the ‘Tip Adviser' logo. It's a valuable asset to anyone interested in betting on a sporting event. You can also look up the most popular bets – helpful if you can't decide what to go for.

Look down the top six of the driver's standings and even someone with a casual interest in Formula 1 will quickly recognise five of the listed names. Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are all where they are expected to be – up at the top of the standings, threatening the championship. Yet, at this early stage in the season, there is one name amongst these world beaters who will not be so well known and that is Sergio Perez who sits in fourth position. As the curtain raises on a season which promises to be one of the most competitive in recent memory (there are six former winners of the championship in the field this year) it may be worth keeping one eye on the young Perez.

Driving for Sauber Ferrari, Perez (22) debuted in Formula 1 last year but he has been racing in other disciplines of motorsport for years. His first professional driving gig came racing in the US in the Skip Barber National Championship, where the then 14 year old Perez finished 11th, representing Telemex, a communications company from his native Mexico. From there he raced in the European Formula BMW championship, became the third youngest driver in the history of the A1 Grand Prix and won a Formula 3 championship in the UK. His debut season in Formula 1 came last year when he signed with Sauber, but the Mexican's first year in the big leagues was blighted by car and injury problems which left him with just 14 points for the season.

This year, however, things have been different. He came out at the opening Australian Grand Prix with blistering form, holding a strong position right until the final lap where extreme tyre wear saw him drop back several places to finish in eighth. In the second race in Malaysia Perez would keep his pace all through the Grand Prix, battling it out right until the end with Fernando Alonso for the win. Alonso eventually took first place, 2.2 seconds ahead of Perez. Second spot on the podium, however, puts Perez on 22 points, ahead of reigning champion Sebastian Vettel.

Most tipsters and pundits are unsurprisingly tipping this year's constructor's championship to feature a two and a half horse race between reigning champions Red Bull Racing and the resurgent McLaren, with an always dangerous Ferrari lurking in the mix somewhere. Yet those looking for an outside bet could do well to follow the fortunes of two of the less talked about teams who bring impressive pedigree, experience and promise to the track – Mercedes and Lotus.

Question marks have been popping up all over the Mercedes GP team since it purchased the reigning champion Brawn GP in 2009. Two fourth place finishes in a row in the proceeding seasons must be seen as, at best, a rocky transitional period or, at worst, a massive step backwards for a very promising team. Yet they simply cannot be counted out this year, if nothing else simply because both their drivers have so much to prove. On one hand you have the veteran Michael Schumacher, once the sport's undisputed top dog, with no wins, no poles and no podiums since his return to the track in 2010. On the other you have his compatriot Nico Rosenberg, who has yet to fully deliver on the early promise he showed in his career.

Genni Capital's Lotus (formerly the Renault F1 team, now rejuvenated and rebranded for 2012) also come with a mixture of experience and youthful potential in Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. Some might say, in Raikkonen's case, the problem may more lie with whether he feels he has anything to prove, as the 2007 driver's champion's attitude has been so often called into question. What is undeniable is that, behind the wheel, the Finn is a true artist and any team with him in their number cannot be discounted from the championship. Grosjean, who is now in his second stint as an F1 driver having left the sport in 2009, is still something of an unknown quantity.

Having so brilliantly and dominantly taken home the last two driver's championship, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel is looking to join a rarefied field in this year's Formula 1 season. The charismatic German has his eyes set on a third straight title which would put him on a list with Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio, the only two other men to do three in a row. Fangio's era of dominance was the mid-50s, when the Argentine took home 4 championships between 1954 and 1957. Vettel's compatriot and hero Schumacher was even more impressive during his time at the top when he collected 5 straight championships with Ferrari, between 2000 and 2004.

Other drivers have attempted a straight hat-trick but fallen at the last hurdle. Most recently Fernando Alonso secured back to back titles in 2005 and 2006 but could only manage third place in 2007. The massiveness of the task has already shown itself to Vettell, who has had a troubled start to the season. In pre-season testing in Barcelona Vettell's car was beset with problems. Though the champion brushed these issues off in interviews, they seemed to manifest themselves in the first race in Melbourne where he never looked comfortable behind the wheel despite coming in 2nd. In the second race in Malaysia a burst tyre saw Vettell finish in 11th position and he now sits 6th in the standings going into the Chinese Grand Prix this month.

If nothing else, the 2012 season of Formula 1 is guaranteed to be a historic one, no matter what happens on the track. Two major facts of note are already in the books for the season – firstly, that it will be the longest season in the history of the sport with 23 races in total and, secondly, that it will see the return of the United States Grand Prix to the schedule. Formula 1 has had a long and sometimes troubled relationship with the USA. It has never quite caught the popular American mind set in the manner of its home-grown rival Nascar and, thus, the history of the US Grand Prix has been an on again/ off again kind of story. Throughout the last century it moved around various race tracks in the States, wavering in popularity, until it was officially discontinued in 1991 following a drab turnout of just 18,500 spectators at Phoenix's street circuit. The US Grand Prix returned in 2000, this time at Indianapolis' famous Speedway. Controversy struck, however, in 2005 when the race's rescheduling for an early summer instead of a mid-autumn date led to serious heat problems for most of the field. The hot conditions meant tyre problems for several drivers and the race was eventually run with just six cars and is now considered to be one of the most absurd moments in the history of the sport.

Two races into the 2012 Formula 1 season and there is a big, ominous red cloud on the horizon. The last three years have seen the Constructors' Championship dominated by Red Bull and McLaren, and those are the two teams which sit on top of this year's standings after two grand prix. Yet in Malaysia a scintillating performance from Fernando Alonso in the Italian giant's car fired a clear warning shot to the rest of the field – the biggest team in racing are not to be counted out of contention. When you couple this with the apparent problems in the Red Bull camp, who so immaculately dominated last season, it notes that Ferrari deserves attention.

The Italians had an uncharacteristically dismal time of it in last year's championship, taking just one win (the British Grand Prix) over the course of the year. It was a far cry from the halcyon days of the early 2000s when Schumacher and company could be relied upon to flat out bully the rest of the field year in and year out. The diminishment of Ferrari's grip on the sport began with the difficulty they had in replacing Schumacher after his first retirement in 2006. Though they would take two more constructor's titles in 2007 and 2008, by 2009 they were overtaken by Brawn while in the last two years they have been swept aside by Red Bull's principal pairing of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Normally known for being cool, calm, collected and never giving in to pressure, Sebastian Vettel expressed his frustration with Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan in his post-race interview following the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver and current world championship holder had a difficult time of it on the Sepang circuit but was still in contention for a fourth place finish in the 46th lap (of 56) when he attempted to round Karthikeyan's HRT car. As Vettel squeezed past, Karthikeyan edged backwards towards the racing line and the two vehicles collided, causing a puncture to the champion's tyre. Vettel ended the race way out of contention in 11th position.

When asked about his performance after the race Vettel did not mince his words. “Like on normal roads, you have some idiots driving around,” spat the charismatic German. “It seems there is also one driving here.” Karthikeyan responded by calling Vettell a “cry-baby” and “unprofessional” before going on to accuse the champion of trying bully a backmarker driver.

Some are suggesting that Vettel, who is chasing his third consecutive driver's championship, may finally be feeling the pressure. Yet there is no question Karthikeyan's slower paced, lapped car needed to allow Vettel to pass. The HRT man pretty much admitted as much later on in the week when he said “"At the end of the day, you don't want to get in the way of other drivers - and when you are driving a slow car and being a backmarker you cannot afford to do these things”, before saying he wanted to put the whole thing behind him.

The 2012 Formula 1 season has kicked off in typically dramatic fashion with the first two races now in the books. In Melbourne on the 18th of March, McLaren's Jenson Button opened the season with a victory in the Australian Grand Prix, with reigning champion Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) coming in second and a resurgent Lewis Hamilton, also McLaren, taking third. It was the third time Button has won in Melbourne which he did having come out early to lead the field. Collision damage forced a number of drivers out of the race including Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher and Niko Hulkenberg.

Though Button had impressed in Melbourne, he would not have such a good day in the second race, the Malaysian Grand Prix in a rainy Sepang. Though he and teammate Hamilton sat second and first in position after qualifying, Button finished out of the reckoning and points positions in 14th place. The race was taken by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who finished ahead of Sergio Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) in second and Hamilton in third. Vettel also had a bad day out, finishing in 11th.

Driver, aviation entrepreneur, author, team manager – it is somewhat difficult to know where to begin when discussing the life of Niki Lauda a man who has excelled in numerous fields throughout his incredible career. Born in Vienna in 1949 Lauda took to a career in Formula 1 against the express wishes of his wealthy parents. After struggling to make a name for himself in the early years of his career while racing with the March team it was his signing with Ferrari in 1974 that kick started Lauda's rise to the top of the sport. Though his talent was still raw he impressed in his first season at the then struggling racing giants, coming in fourth in the championship.  

The following season, however, Lauda excelle and began showing the dynamic, compelling form for which he dwould soon be world famous, taking home his first world championship. Though he started the season slowly his driving improved with each race until he took the title on the last race of the year in the US Grand Prix. The 1976 season would not go so well. Lauda began the season in awe-inspiring form, dominating mercilessly in the early part of the season, taking 5 of the first 7 races. In the 8th race at the terrifying Nurburging in the German Grand Prix, however, disaster would strike. During the second lap Lauda's Ferrari veered off-track before colliding with Brett Lunger's car. The accident left Lauda in a coma and, though Lauda would recover, he would do so with severe scarring across his head and face. Lauda returned triumphant in the 1977 season winning his second championship, though this time the stunning speed which characterised his earlier performances was replaced by a more considered, careful approach. 

In the ensuing years Lauda would come and go from motor racing while pursuing his other interests, namely his chartered airline Lauda Air. He did, however, take another championship against all odds in 1984 driving for McLaren before retiring for good at the end of the following year.

Charismatic, intelligent and superbly gifted behind the wheel, Jackie Stewart is commonly accepted as one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history and one of its most colourful and recognisable characters. In a career that lasted just eight years, from 1965-1973, Stewart would rack up 3 World Championship titles while also setting numerous records across the sport.

Stewart was born in West Dumbartonshire, Scotland in 1939 and quickly gained an interest in cars through the influence of his father, who owned a Jaguar showroom and was himself a talented amateur racing driver. His school record was blighted by dyslexia (then not the identifiable disease it is today) and he dropped out at the age of 16 to concentrate on sports. Stewart excelled at clay pigeon shooting and skeet shooting but it was racing that really took his fancy and, after doing a few test laps at the request of one of his father's customers, Stewart quickly began to rise through the Formula ranks.

His debut in Formula 3 was remarkable, as the young driver (as part of the Tyrell team) took the race with a 44 minute lead. He was quickly offered a contract to race in Formula 1 and in 1964 he made his debut in the big leagues racing for Lotus. He impressed in his first season, finishing in third position in the championship. After signing back to Tyrell Stewart began taking home the championship, which he did three times in 5 years in 1969, 1971 and 1973. During these seasons Stewart defined himself by his incredible ability to dominate and control the entire field during a race. He frequently finished laps ahead of the competition and established the record for most driver wins (27) which would not be broken for nearly 20 years.

Stewart retired at the end of the 1973 season, exhausted by his busy racing schedule (he raced in Can-Am during the off season) and increasingly fearful of the safety risks involved in his sport. The latter reason has seen Stewart become a great advocate for increased safety in Formula 1 and he is credited as one of the driving forces behind many of the improved regulations which made it a safer sport in the coming decades.