Maybe it also depends on the field. In computational neuroscience, which is a much smaller field than molecular biology or genetics, it is quite common to cite

Maybe it also depends on the field. In computational neuroscience, which is a much smaller field than molecular biology or genetics, it is quite common to cite foundational papers in cutting edge papers. One such paper I just pulled up has ~25k citations for example, 10k more than the Watson & Crick paper...