Gerard Lopez says it is unreasonable to expect Lotus to return to the top step of the podium.
A couple of years ago, when Kimi Raikkonen began to win races for Enstone, the team began to push hard to become a truly top outfit.
Instead, Lotus utterly slumped in 2014.
"If you have ambition and a slightly competitive character - and for me it is not ’slightly’, it is a lot - it is hard not to go for it, but you can become your own worst enemy," Lopez told Spain’s El Confidencial.
"What I would not do again, perhaps, is that when you are fourth or fifth, try to gamble in going for first place, as we did two years ago," said Lopez.
In an interview published subsequently, the Luxembourger explained that as Lotus gets back on track in 2015, the renewed goal is simply to "do well" in the "medium term".
"Right now we are the fourth or fifth best team and we have to be there," said Lopez.
"Forget about the first two," he added, presumably referring to Mercedes and Ferrari.
"Third place, as Williams did last year, was possible only because of the engine. And I say that with all due respect to Williams.
"But with 550 people you cannot compete against teams who have 850 — maybe for one year due to a regulation change, but not after," Lopez insisted.