Well, "we" are largely addicted to torque, that often is the primary goal. Myself, I do believe horse power should be the primary goal, with an adequate helping of torque along the way.
By the way, I seem to recall the idle speed of an F1 engine was around 3 to 4,000 rpm. Taking off from the pitts all but requires you "burn rubber" to keep from stalling the engine (they got no torque).