The following statement is purely my own opinion, and it's not been fact checked: Both "agencies" (F1 and Poker) try to cross their fan base with different experiences and see if they can get more customers. 40 years ago, there was little talk about Soccer in US, and now? 15 years ago, there was not much talk about F1 in US, now? 10 years ago, there was not much talk about American Footbal outside the US, and now? People who follow poker and F1 have something in common - they like thrills, and once you understand the "game" (rules, strategies and tricks), it's easier to "like " it. So, what does F1 and poker have in common? - their audience share similar tendencies, and both parties want to expend pool (F1 teams relay more on sponsors than fan base). Lot of different companies try to tap into diverse audience via sport team sponsors, to include cycling. What does cycling have in common with Poker? - doesn't matter - its about exposure and audience sharing.