Will Power "has taken time off to collect his thoughts and reconsider his future in the sport," according to Australia's Daily Telegraph, in light of the brutal end to the IndyCar Series season in Las Vegas.
Power, 33, fell just short of claiming the IndyCar championship for the second straight year. The newspaper quotes the Team Penske driver's father, Bob Power, saying his son told him before the race that the Las Vegas Motor Speedway event risked tragedy.
"He told me before the race that someone is going to get killed out there," said Bob Power. "It was just a throwaway line but it has ended up coming true."
The elder Power said he would encourage his son to try his hand at another motorsport category, claiming IndyCar racing was too dangerous.
"It wouldn't worry me if he walked away and tried something else," he said. "I would like him to have a go at Formula 1 or something like that, because it is a hell of a lot safer than running around ovals in IndyCars. I would much rather him run on road circuits because ovals are a worry."
Will Power was briefly hospitalized after complaining of lower back pain after his involvement in the 15-car pileup in which Dan Wheldon suffered fatal injuries, and in which the Australian's car also went airborne. He was released after tests showed no further injury to his back, which was broken at a crash at Infineon Raceway in 2009. Power subsequently announced that he would not run the Gold Coast V8 Supercar race in Surfers Paradise next weekend, as originally planned. Tony Kanaan is also sitting out the event.