Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado finished 15th and 16th respectively at the Australian Grand Prix in March, to round out an underwhelming first week of competition.
It continued Lotus' poor 2014 with the Enstone-based team having missed the opening testing session of the year in Jerez because their new car, the E22, was not ready.
Technical director Nick Chester said there would be more pain to come for Lotus, as he feels the Asian swing through Kuala Lumpur, Sakhir and Shanghai will see them struggle to challenge for podium positions.
"It is difficult to make a strong prediction after the weekend we have just had in Australia, especially with the limited mileage under our belt," Chester said.
"I'm certainly hoping for an improvement for Malaysia and then some more in Bahrain, although as they are back to back it is likely to be small steps.
"It may well be Barcelona before we are in a more stable position and compete at the level we want to be at.
"One thing's for certain, we're not sitting back; we're pushing all the way with the focus on extracting the maximum from the E22."
The Spanish GP, known as the Gran Premio De Espana Pirelli, will be held on May 11.
Until then, Chester warned Lotus would struggle, while improvements are made on their car.
"We are still producing new bodywork and have some good upgrades coming for Malaysia in all areas around the car," he said.
"We will keep pushing as hard as we can with the upgrade programme."