Cars 2 was the first Pixar Cars film to feature the World Grand Prix.
Released in 2011, Cars 2 changes the franchise's focus from an American stock-car championship to a multinational racing event. Lightning McQueen competes in the World Grand Prix against Francesco Bernoulli and other international racers.
The film also adds a spy-thriller storyline. Mater is mistaken for an operative and becomes involved with Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell while a conspiracy threatens the race. This gives Cars 2 a structure closer to an international action adventure than the small-town character story of Cars.
Cars 3 returns to the Piston Cup and concentrates on Lightning's rivalry with Jackson Storm. The World Grand Prix should therefore be associated specifically with Cars 2, not the original film's championship or the third film's domestic racing plot.