This is the universal truth. One exception can be your starting position in a race. If you’re way at the back and need to pass a bunch of driver you might add a tooth to the rear in a shifter. Most don’t bother though.
In terms of peak power, yes in the sense that you want to spend as much time at peak power as possible over the course of a lap. But that will often mean having to overrev. Put simply is a compromise between speed of the slowest turn and the length of the longest straight.