Jaime Alguersuari was also caught up in the latest Italian earthquake that killed 15 people and forced Ferrari to send its employees home on Tuesday.
The former Toro Rosso driver told Spanish sports newspaper AS that he was near the epicentre of the magnitude-5.8 quake as he prepared to test a kart this week.
Asked if he is okay, Spaniard Alguersuari said: "Yes, everything’s fine, but this morning at the hotel I had a hard time, I was really scared.
"I was in the shower and I just ran out. At first I wasn’t worried because I’d experienced something similar in Japan, but soon I realised that everything was shaking and getting strong and that this was much worse.
"There was a point at which I kept thinking ’it’s all over’ — I thought the building was coming down. So I put on a towel and ran down to reception and into the street.
"It all lasted about two minutes and I realised that, yes, in a moment everything can change. It was an experience."