Cars 2 is the only Pixar Cars movie centered on the World Grand Prix.
Released in 2011, Cars 2 follows Lightning McQueen as he enters a three-race international championship created by businessman Miles Axlerod. The races take place in Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London, giving the film a global structure unlike the local setting of the original Cars or the domestic racing focus of Cars 3.
The World Grand Prix also provides cover for a spy plot involving Finn McMissile, Holley Shiftwell, Mater, and a conspiracy connected to Allinol fuel. The racing and espionage stories eventually converge during the London finale.
Cars is centered on the Piston Cup and McQueen's personal growth in Radiator Springs. Cars 3 returns to the Piston Cup world and focuses on McQueen's rivalry with Jackson Storm. Planes belongs to a related franchise but is not a Pixar Cars movie and does not define this trilogy's championship storyline.