Following the French Grand Prix, Mercedes-Benz travelled to Italy to contest two non-championship races - the Coppa Ciano at Montenero and the Coppa Acerbo at Pescara. For the Coppa Ciano, Caracciola was entered in an experimental car with a larger saddle tank and a shorter tail section. Pole position went to Carlo Felice Trossi in a Maserati 8CTF, but he retired on lap eight with engine troubles. Caracciola retired due to a punctured fuel tank, leaving von Brauchitsch to win from Lang. After the race, von Brauchitsch was disqualified for receiving outside assistance, which left Lang as the winner. At the Coppa Acerbo, Mercedes-Benz failed to win the pole position for the second race in a row; Tazio Nuvolari took pole position for Auto Union. In the race, Nuvolari retired when his differential broke, leaving Caracciola to win. The two other W154s of von Brauchitsch and Lang retired with engine problems. Lang's car caught fire after a conrod severed the fuel pipe to his car's engine; the fire burnt away all of the aluminium bodywork.
