In Pixar’s Cars 2, which former racing champion becomes the spy Miles Axlerod’s target?

Lightning McQueen becomes the spy Miles Axlerod’s target in Pixar’s Cars 2.

Cars 2 follows Lightning as he enters the World Grand Prix, an international race organized by Miles Axlerod. The event is secretly connected to a plot involving alternative fuel and a device that can cause cars to malfunction.

Mater is mistaken for a spy and becomes involved with British agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. Lightning, meanwhile, is the prominent racer whose participation helps expose the conspiracy. Miles Axlerod is eventually revealed as the film’s main villain.

Some viewers remember Cars 2 mainly as Mater’s spy story, but Lightning remains the racer at the center of the World Grand Prix. Francesco Bernoulli is Lightning’s Italian racing rival, not the target of Axlerod’s scheme.