Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/891637
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2017 Sport 23 FORMULA 1 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy with some isolated showers to East of area VISIBILITY: Good WIND: North Northwest force 5 to 6 locally force 6 to 7 at first, becoming North Northeast force 4 locally force 5 SEA: Rough Swell: Low mainly West to Northwest, becoming locally low to moderate A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. WINDY 22 º C /17 º C UV INDEX: 6 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 3. Academic world (8) 9. Narrow street (5) 10. Acquire (3) 11. New Zealand parrot (3) 12. Defraud (5,6) 14. Meat (5) 16. Drama (4) 17. Summed (5) 19. God-like (6) 20. Drinking vessel (3) 22. Opera by Bizet (6) 23. Former Russian rulers (5) 25. Wind instrument (4) 26. Raw hides (5) 28. At once (11) 30. Storage container (3) 31. Ingot (3) 32. Eccentric (5) 33. Engrossed (8) Down 1. 24 hour periods (4) 2. Body of peers (7) 4. Universal in extent (8) 5. Of delicate beauty (6) 6. Temporary expedient (9) 7. Wide open (5) 8. Pile (5) 13. Made by hand (8) 15. Not normal (8) 18. Bandages (9) 21. Heaven (8) 24. Stopping place (7) 25. Tool used for driving nails (6) 26. Common people (5) 27. Seventh sign of the zodiac (5) 29. Spool-like toy (2-2) e8=Q+ Kf6 (Kh6) Bd4# (Qf7#) ... Kh6 Rh5# (Be3#, Qh5#, Qe6#)) Alonso expects Mexican GP grid penalty MCLARENHONDA'S Fernando Alonso says he is braced for a back-of-the-grid start at this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix, in the wake of his engine failure in the United States. Alonso avoided a sanction in Austin and started from seventh place, and was on course to convert his grid position in race trim until an MGU-H failure forced him to retire. As a result, Alonso is expecting to start from the back of the field at the Autó- dromo Hermanos Rodríguez due to the requirement of new engine components, which will trigger a grid penalty. "I love Mexico and the Mexican peo- ple, and I hope we can put on the show they deserve," said Alonso. "It will surely be a challenging week- end for us as I'm expecting to start from the back of the grid due to the engine is- sue we had in Austin. "It's also a track where we often strug- gle with traffic, which makes overtaking difficult. "But, on the positive side, we tested a lot of new components on Friday in the USA which we were very happy with, and we hope to take those forward to use in Mexico." Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne dropped down the order on the grid after a pre- race MGU-H issue was detected, forcing McLaren to fit his MCL32 with new ele- ments. Vandoorne, having completed the race in Austin in 12th spot, is optimistic of avoiding a grid penalty this weekend, but the situation has yet to be deter- mined. "Mexico will likely be a very tricky race for us because of the long straight and the high altitude, two characteristics which will make things more difficult for us all weekend," he said. "As I had to change my power unit on race day in Austin, we're hoping that we won't have to take penalties on my car in Mexico. "At the moment we're looking into everything and will wait until Friday to confirm if anything is necessary."