‘Papaya rules’ still in force with McLaren drivers free to race

So, with third and fourth places in a race in which nobody could really challenge

George Russell and his runaway Mercedes

, and Max Verstappen kept hold of second place despite the return of Red Bull’s gear-shift problems and less-than-perfect race set-up, McLaren duly clinched their

second consecutive world championship for constructors

under the lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Oct 5.

The famed team – Formula One’s second oldest – had not achieved that feat since 1991, with Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger.