Miles Axlerod is revealed as the mastermind behind the plot against the World Grand Prix in Pixar's Cars 2.
Axlerod presents himself as a former oil tycoon who has transformed into an electric-car advocate. He organizes the World Grand Prix and promotes Allinol, a supposedly clean alternative fuel. The races secretly serve as a test of a weapon that makes cars using Allinol malfunction.
The plan is intended to discredit alternative fuel and preserve the importance of petroleum. Axlerod is ultimately exposed as the mastermind and as the car responsible for the conspiracy's central scheme.
Professor Zündapp is an important accomplice, while Francesco Bernoulli is a World Grand Prix competitor. Finn McMissile is an investigator, not a villain. These roles are easy to mix up because all four characters are central to the international storyline.