Pirelli will present their offer to make a return to F1 after a 20-year absence

Italian tyre company Pirelli will join France's Michelin and Anglo-American firm Cooper Avon in tendering to supply Formula 1 in 2011.

The teams are already in talks with Michelin and Cooper Avon but Pirelli intends to make its offer before next week's Spanish Grand Prix.

Pirelli tyres were used in the inaugural 1950 world championship and the company were last involved in 1991.

F1 needs a new supplier as Bridgestone is pulling out at the end of 2010.

The Japanese company has been the sole supplier since 2007 after competing against Goodyear in 1997 and 1998 and Michelin until 2006.

Now, both Pirelli and Michelin are vying to return to the sport while the smaller Wiltshire-based Avon company is pitching for its first foray into F1.

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At the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told BBC Sport: "I don't mind [which company] as long as the teams are happy."

The teams are keen to get the situation resolved as soon as possible because it has an impact on the designs of the 2011 cars.

A switch to either Michelin or Pirelli would involve the introduction of 18-inch wheel rims, rather than the 13-inch wheels currently used.

This would have a huge impact on car design as it would fundamentally change the suspension set-up and the way the teams designed the cars to handle bumps.

At the moment, the taller tyre sidewalls are effectively used as part of the suspension to absorb bumps, but the smaller sidewalls of the lower-profile tyres that would come with 18-inch wheels would be less effective at that, so the suspension would have to be changed to accommodate it.

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