McLaren executive director Zak Brown says it is vital his team secures a title sponsor by 2018 and is confident he can make it happen.
Brown joined the team at the end of last year and immediately targeted a big-name sponsor for 2018. McLaren has not had a title sponsor since Vodafone opted not to renew its contract at the end of 2013, presenting an opportunity for a new company to get involved.
Honda joined the team in 2015 as an engine supplier, partly plugging the gap left by Vodafone's departure, but Brown is determined to secure more backing next year.
"The deal needs to be done in 2018," he told Autocar. "We can't go much longer than that. This season is already finished because, realistically, it takes a year working with a big corporation to get the right deal.
"We're already working hard but, to the naked eye, there may be relatively little progress through 2017. But next year should be a game changer for us."
McLaren's search for a Vodafone replacement dates back to early 2014 when then-CEO Ron Dennis claimed the team would have one after the first few races of the season. The team's on-track performance in recent years has not helped matters, but Brown is confident McLaren will take another step up the grid in 2017.
"We're definitely going to improve. It'd be dangerous to put a number on it, but our trajectory in 2016 was encouraging. We were sixth in the constructors' championship, a big improvement on the disastrous ninth of 2015, and we improved as the season went on. With a few more races, we could have challenged Williams for fifth."