The Italian team brought an upgrade to their home race at Imola but narrowly trailed in Red Bull and McLaren’s wake in qualifying as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified P4 and P5 respectively.
The single-lap pace at the sharp end of the field was incredibly competitive, with just two-tenths separating the top four cars.
Charles Leclerc drove to third place in the Grand Prix to delight the home fans, finishing just under 8s behind Verstappen.
Vasseur said the competitiveness of the front-running cars means that Ferrari will have to upgrade the SF-24 more quickly.
“What is true is that we are at the point now where we will have to speed up the development because imagine that someone could bring an upgrade one race before when you have three teams in one-tenth. We can jump from P5 to P1.
“We have to speed up the time to market for the development… it will be crucial.”
Red Bull has dominated over the past couple of seasons, but the Austrian team’s advantage has shrunk in the past couple of races.
In Miami, Norris took his maiden victory in Formula 1 after pulling away from Verstappen, who was suffering from floor damage.
At Imola on Sunday, the reigning world champion claimed his record-equalling eighth consecutive pole position, partly thanks to gaining a slipstream from Nico Hülkenberg.
Vasseur said that Ferrari is chasing fractions rather than significant performance gains, so it must be certain that the upgrade will deliver.
“I think that the competition will be everywhere. The set-up of the car will be crucial next week in Monaco. The performance of the driver will be crucial.
“But we also have to pay attention that we are now chasing the last hundredth, that it’s not anymore an upgrade at five-tenths.
“It means that you also have to be sure that what you are bringing is well. That will be the key factor for the next couple of years.”
